An Augmented Life
by karategirl666
Summary: Aria Adne is the youngest chief battle expert to ever walk the halls of the federation. After the attacks by John Harrison she is sent aboard the USS Enterprise to assist in the capture of Harrison and to seek her own revenge for the death of her mentor. Upon capture of Harrison on Kronos she realizes she may have more in common with the terrorist then she likes. John Harrison/OFC
1. Kronos Meeting

-o-An Augmented Life-o-

Novella Fanfiction by karategirl666

Disclaimer: JJ Abrams world twisted to my liking.

-o-In loving memory and dedicated to Jack-o-

Aria smiled softly as she walked towards the star fleet bunker. Her hands were jittery, and her heart was pounding. She was about to embark on one of the greatest adventures of her life, and she couldn't be more pleased, or more terrified. She took a deep breath as she walked up to one of the guards and handed over her tablet with identification.

"Aria Adne." He said. "Welcome to Star Fleet."

"Thank you." She said taking her tablet back and walking past him into the large bunker. She stopped with a soft expression as she stared out at ten large ships.

"Amazing isn't it?" She turned to see a young woman with short blonde hair.

"Yes, it's stunning." She said as she looked the young woman over.

"Carol Wallace." She said putting her hand out.

"Aria Adne." They shook hands

"Where are you headed? What ship I mean?"

"Enterprise." Aria said with an eager look.

"Me as well, shall we walk together?" Carol inquired looking over the fair skinned girl with long ruby red hair and deep green eyes.

"Sounds perfect… So what position are you going into?" She asked as they began to walk.

"I am a weapons specialist, so science position. What about you?"

"Expert in battle tactics, so bridge."

"Exciting." Carol said and Aria smiled softly. They headed to a shuttle and Aria looked around as Carol walked straight up to the Captain with a confident step, one that Aria envied. Aria looked down at her tablet to make sure everything was in place. She didn't want to make a fool out of herself in her first meeting with the Captain.

"And you are?" She quickly looked up at Commander Spock to see he was staring at her with a quirked eyebrow. She instantly felt like hitting herself. Despite her wanting to not make a fool out of herself she had managed to in less than a minute.

"Uhm… Aria Adne, Commander Spock, I am your new Battle Tactics expert." She said handing her tablet over to the Captain.

"What happened to Bradshaw?" Captain Kirk inquired as he looked over her credentials.

"I'm afraid he died in the attack last week Captain…" She said.

"You were his student, he was your mentor…" Spock said reading the tablet Kirk had handed to him.

"That's right…" Aria said and she watched as the Captain looked her over.

"How old are you Miss Adne?" Kirk inquired.

"Please, Aria, and I am 21 years old Captain." She answered.

"You look younger."

"I take that as a compliment." She said with a smile.

"Well… You don't look evil, so take a seat Aria." He said.

"Yes sir." She said with a bright smile as she went to walk away. She suddenly backed up and looked him over "And uhm, I won't let you down." Kirk smiled at her eagerness.

"I'm sure you won't Aria." She nodded as she took back her tablet and headed to a seat behind the Captain. She looked to her side to see jittery tall fellow who was going through a medical kit.

"Dr. McCoy?" She asked and he looked to her.

"How did you know?" He asked as she buckled herself in.

"I read your thesis on battle related wounds." She said and he smiled. "Inspiring work." He smiled more. "I'm Aria Adne." He shook her hand.

"Nice to meet you, Leonard, or Bones."

"Bones?" She asked.

"A cruel nickname the Captain gave me."

"It's not my fault your wife took everything but your bones in the divorce." Kirk said and Aria smiled. She could tell it was going to be a fun crew to work with.

"Can we get back to a bigger issue on hand?" McCoy asked.

"Like?" Kirk inquired.

"The freaking torpedoes you plan on sending into Klingon territory."

"Sir as your chief battle expert I do not recommend such a move." Aria said.

"Noted." Kirk stated and she waited before tilting her head.

"And Captain?" She inquired.

"And it's noted." He said with a cheeky smile as he looked over his shoulder at her.

"Right…" She looked off. "Are we at least stopping at the territory line to shoot them in?"

"Yes we are Aria."

"Oh good." She said relaxing. "You do know that this will probably start a war right?"

"Do you have a problem with that Aria?"

"Well usually I'd say yes but the man we're going after killed the one man who ever took a chance on me so… No." Kirk smiled to himself. He had more in common with Aria then he previously thought. "Sir while heading to the ship, I'd like permission to look over archive footage of John Harrison to study his battle techniques."

"Permission granted." He took her tablet and punched in his code before handing it back.

"Thank you sir." She said as the shuttle raised up into the air.

-o-

When they got to the shuttle bay of the USS Enterprise. Aria stepped off and looked around the bay with a smile. She had been aboard many ships since graduating from Star Fleet, and before that with her adoptive father Bradshaw but none of them had ever been quite as impressive as The USS Enterprise. Her eyes then caught an interesting sight. A grouping of Torpedoes getting set gingerly down in front of firing tubes.

"These are far advanced aren't they Carol? I've never seen anything like this in my reading except in future plans for long range weaponry."

"Yes these are far advanced indeed I too have never set eyes on such weaponry…" She said with a look of awe.

"There's no way these are getting put on my ship!" Aria looked up at a familiar voice.

"Mr. Scott?" He turned and suddenly smiled.

"Aria Adne." He said and she walked around the Torpedo to him and shook his hand. "Good to see you lass." He said clapping her on the shoulder before bringing her into a tight hug.

"And you." She said with a bright smile.

"You two know each other?" Kirk inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"I used to babysit this little bugger before she was a hotshot in battle tactics." He said his arm going around her as she laughed. "Aye your father would be proud."

"Who was your father?" Kirk inquired.

"He's speaking of Bradshaw he took me in when I was little. Adopted me."

"She was knee high to a duck when he took her in she was. I feel much safer with you aboard lass." He said and she smiled. "You'll find no one better in battle sir." He said to Kirk. "Wee scary lass she is." He pinched her cheek and she swatted his hand away.

"Speaking of which I think I should head up onto the bridge." She said with a smile.

"First back me in saying these torpedoes shouldn't be upon this ship." Scotty said holding her in place with his arm around her shoulders.

"Sorry tactically speaking we need them." She said before walking off after Spock who had been ordered to the bridge by an annoyed Kirk.

"Oi you're supposed to be on my side girly!" Scotty yelled. "Oi Lass!"

"Sorry Scotty I'm on the side of battle tactics!" She called as she stepped onto the turbolift. As she did she brought up the footage of the terrorist John Harrison on her tablet.

Aria looked over the screen with a tilted head. She had to admit, there wasn't much when it came to battle tactic to the terrorist John Harrison. There was no footage of him physically fighting. It seemed when it came to battle he preferred to use his mind or technology. Using both was a deadly combination. Still, he was quite impressive and she only wished her mentor was still alive to see it.

"Permission to come onto the bridge." She said and she was waved on by Commander Spock. She walked inside and headed over to her area which had full control over weapons and shields. It was one of the most powerful posts to have on the bridge. She slowly sat down and checked herself in before continuing to examine all archive footage on John Harrison.

She paused a scene of him flying in the aircraft which had nearly killed her new Captain. She stared at the man inside for a long moment. He was staring off into the distance with a sure look and his mouth set in a firm line. There was no feeling in his expression none at all. She pulled up other stills and tilted her head seeing the same expression. She had to wonder if the man knew the pain he was causing by killing so many. Her eyes narrowed on Harrison as her jaw clenched.

"_Aria my girl what would you say to a lovely meal with an old man?" Aria laughed as her mentor leant his arm for her to take. _

"_Well first I'd say you're only mildly old…" He laughed. "And second I'd say, why eat when we could just go out and drink?" _

"_You make an amazing point." He said and she smiled as she looked him over. _

"_Maybe we can get free stuff with our uniforms." _

"_Doesn't hurt to try." A loud bang sounded and Aria jumped. _

"_What the hell was that?" _

"_Aria move!" She was propelled towards the ground, her cheek smacking against the pavement as she landed. She turned and looked over her shoulder to look at Bradshaw and watched in horror as shards of glass and slabs of stone fell upon him. "Bradshaw!" _

Just like that he was gone. The one man who had ever taken a chance on her. The one person who had ever truly believed in her. The one person who had ever cared about her in an instant was dead. She bowed her head for a moment as she brought up a photo of Bradshaw. He was smiling brightly at her from behind large spectacles, and salt and pepper hair. She looked at it for a long moment as her jaw clenched.

"Checking in on your mentors files?" She turned to see the Captain.

"Uhm no Captain, I just need a reminder of the shoes I'm to fill." He nodded with a smile as he clapped her on the back.

"You're going to do fine."

"I want to do great sir." He smiled.

"I'm sure you will Aria." With that he walked off and she smiled softly. She watched him walk over to the navigator. She turned back to the archive footage and started looking over the weaponry the ship held. It was all standard, until she spotted the torpedoes, weapons she had just become acquainted with. She sighed heavily as she looked over the Torpedoes. They were definitely going to start a war, all because of this John Harrison. He was becoming more and more of a pain in her neck as time went on.

"Sulu?" Kirk inquired.

"Yes sir?"

"Punch it."

"Aye sir."

-o-

Khan slowly looked around his eyes scanning the desolate home world of Kronos. It was the perfect place to hide, at least in the beginning. Star Fleet wouldn't dare follow him to enemy space. Though now he had a feeling that nothing would stop Admiral Marcus from coming after him. He had to wonder if he would come himself in the Dreadnaught class starship Vengeance, which he had to admit was aptly named. Or if the Admiral would send a cousin ship after him. Possibly a NCC-1701 class.

"Let them come…" He muttered to himself. "Let them try and catch me… There will only be more death… More vengeance on my part…"

He couldn't believe the Admiral had tried to use his crew against him. To try and blackmail him into designing weapons and starships for his use. Little did the admiral know that all that planning all that designing had been working up to the inventible fall of Star Fleet. Still, he did miss his crew, and had to admit his devastation at their destruction when he fled.

"I vow now to never flee again…" Khan said his eyes narrowing at the desolate planetoid.

-o-

Aria walked alongside the Captain as they moved through the ship. There had been a slight change of plans, and she wasn't sure she completely agreed with it. Instead of firing torpedoes at John Harrisons location and killing him per Star Fleet command, they were going to go hunt down John Harrison and bring him into custody and take him to earth to stand trial for his crimes.

"You don't seem pleased Aria." She looked to the Captain who was eyeing her out of the corner of his eye.

"You are the Captain I defer to you on all things…" She said her jaw jutting out slightly.

"Still I can tell you're not happy. Permission to speak freely Aria."

"I didn't ask for permission sir." She said looking to him with a raised eyebrow.

"Then speak freely that's an order." Her jaw clenched before nodding.

"I want to see that man bloody and dead." She said stopping and making Kirk do the same as he looked to her.

"I do to." He said.

"Then why don't we fire upon him? Lord knows he deserves it Captain."

"Because, Christopher Pike and Harold Bradshaw deserve justice." He said.

"John Harrison dead and bloody isn't justice?" She asked and he smiled.

"On any other day I'd agree with you…" He said clapping her on the shoulder.

"It's not just that I want him dead… It's that what we're doing is so much more dangerous…"

"Which is why you're going with me." He said. "Who better to get us through this then our chief battle expert?"

"Right." She said looking off.

"Are you up for this?" She looked to him.

"I have been in worse battles then this Captain…"

"That's not what I meant…"

"Then what was your meaning Captain?" She inquired.

"Can you be objective Aria?"

"Sir?"

"Will you not kill John Harrison the first chance you get? I've read your file, not only a battle expert but a martial arts expert as well… Your hands are registered as weapons." He said with a smile.

"As long as he doesn't try to kill me or anyone else on our away team he's as safe as a house."

"Didn't you burn a house down?" He inquired and she shifted on her feet.

"That… Was a uhm…" She cleared her throat. "Accident…"

"Right, now get changed." He said with a smile.

"Changed sir?" She asked.

"We can't go into enemy territory looking like members of the Federation. If anything happens it can't be traced back."

"Right sir, I'll get changed straight away sir."

"See you at the shuttle bay."

"Yes Captain." She said before running off towards her living quarters. She quickly got inside and got changed into a pair of skinny jeans and long sleeved black hoodie. She pulled on a black leather vest and thigh length pea coat letting her hoodie hang out the back, and put on a pair of black leather boots with studs on the heal and buckles up the side. She checked to make sure she had everything she nodded before heading out and running head first into some one. "Oh I am so sorry." She said as she helped a young woman up in civilian clothes. "Officer Uhura?" She asked.

"Uhm yes how did you know?"

"The civilian clothes you must be coming on the away team with us?"

"You're commander Aria Adne."

"That I am."

"Good to meet you, sorry I ran head first into you." She said with a smile.

"Sorry I knocked you down." Aria said before they began to run together towards the shuttle bay.

"You're fluent in Klingon?" She asked.

"Yes."

"That could come in handy if we're ambushed."

"Think we will be?" Uhura inquired with a wide eyed look.

"It's not so much a matter of if or will but of when exactly we'll be ambushed on this trip." Aria said.

-o-

"If you test me… You will fail…"

Khan slowly stood his hands clenched tightly at his side. He had heard the threat. And for once it was a threat he felt the need to heed. Torpedoes, his torpedoes were pointing at him. Risking not only his life but the lives of the only people he held dear. His jaw clenched so hard he heard it pop in dissatisfaction. The acting Captain said he had many torpedoes, he wanted to know how many there were. A few he might be able to stomach sparing more than that he didn't see a choice but to give himself up. He looked to the sky and spotted a small shuttle being surrounded by a grouping of Klingon war ships. For a moment he thought of letting the Klingons blow them away then he remembered his crew and he decided to go for his weapons. He was going to have to save the people who were sent after him in order to save the people stuck in his torpedoes.

-o-

"This isn't good…" Kirk said looking out at the warships. "Well Aria what do we do?"

"We have no battle capability on this ship but the phasers Captain." She said.

"I didn't ask what we had I asked what we should do." He said and she thought about it for a long moment.

"I say we land." She said.

"They call you an expert Aria?" Kirk asked. "Maybe I didn't hear you right."

"I said we should land Sir."

"I heard you the first time…"

"Then what was your meaning Captain?"

"God you're worse than Spock." He said angrily.

"Your meaning Captain?" Spock asked and Uhura smiled.

"Why do you think landing would be good Aria?" Kirk inquired as his jaw clenched.

"Because Uhura can speak Klingon maybe she could explain the situation…" Aria said.

"No." Kirk said.

"Sir she's right I can talk us out of this." Uhura explained. "You brought me here to speak their language now let me speak it." Kirk looked at her for a long moment.

"No." He said and Uhura sighed angrily.

"Seriously?" She inquired.

"I'll go with her…" He looked to Aria. "Keep her safe." She said opening up her pea coat to show her knives which rested in her leather vest.

"You can handle this if it goes bad?" Kirk asked.

"Registered weapons remember?" She inquired putting her hands out for him to look at. "I've never lost a fight yet sir." He brought his eyes up to her. "And I don't plan on starting now." He thought about it for a long moment before slowly nodding. "Yes?" she inquired.

"Yes… Yes… Right…" Kirk said nodding. "Alright… We're taking it down…"

"I'll be right at your side." Aria said walking with Uhura to the shuttle door.

"Do you speak any Klingon?"

"Only battle phrases weapons and common threats I'm afraid."

"We may need the threat, when I scratch my ear you threaten." Aria smiled, Uhura was trying to make light of the situation, and she was thankful. Though she wasn't worried of being hurt or killed by a Klingon, she was worried for the away team. She looked to Uhura to see she was looking back at Spock who had a soft expression as he looked her over. They really were in love, and in that moment Aria envied Uhura. If something were to happen to her because of the Klingons Spock would mourn her. If something were to happen to Aria though no one was left to mourn her. She doubted anyone would claim the body, after all there was no one left to care about her not since Bradshaw had a building dropped on him by one John Harrison.

"Be careful you two." Kirk said as the door popped open.

"Ready?" Uhura asked looking to Aria who smiled softly.

"Yep, uhm you do the talking." Aria said and Uhura smiled before laughing softly.

"Here we go…" She said as the door opened. Aria slowly looked around. It was a desolate planetoid. Filled with ash and rubble. The air was thick, almost to the point Aria wished not to breathe as to not have to taste it. She walked slightly behind Uhura as they moved towards the masked Klingons who were descending a bleak stair. Uhura was to take point on this, as she should. She was the one who spoke Klingon after all. As they walked Aria looked around. It seemed the Klingons were sticking to normal pre battle tactics. Facing them head on and not sneaking around to ambush.

They came to a stop and she looked to the largest of the Klingons moving forward as Uhura began to speak. Aria could already tell by how the Klingons were moving that this wasn't going to end well. Any moment the head Klingon would make a move, and then out of nowhere other ships would fly in and begin an air strike.

Khan tilted his head as he walked onto the hill overlooking the shuttle that had been grounded by the Klingons. He tilted his head further seeing two women speaking to a group of Klingons. He shook his head, he wondered whose bright idea it was to land in the first place. It would have been an easier death if they had just tried to run. He watched as the head Klingon made an angry noise and reached for the woman before him. The second woman rushed forward and grabbed the Klingons hand before slamming a knife into its neck.

"Run Uhura!" She yelled.

"Interesting…" He stated with a smile before he began to fire upon the group of Klingons.

"Uhura!" Aria tackled her to the ground away from a Klingon that had rushed at her.

"Who the hell is that!?" Kirk yelled rushing at them as he spotted a man up on a ridge firing away at any Klingon that moved.

"That would be Harrison I should think, shall I retrieve him Captain?!" Aria yelled over the sound of battle as he handed her a phaser.

"We shall all try, now move!" He ordered and they all advanced forward instantly getting separated in the maze that was the Kronos ridges and trenches. Aria set her eyes on the man that was taking out Klingon after Klingon. She had to admit he was like a machine in his fighting and it was impressive. Still his skill would grant him no mercy. A Klingon jumped before her and she slid between its legs before spinning up onto her feet and stabbing one of her knifes through the back of its neck. She turned and rushed towards the high ridge Harrison stood upon. She kicked up the ridge easily and tackled Harrison to the ground. She punched him across the face and slammed her foot down onto his chest.

"John Harrison!" She yelled over the sounds of battle. He stared up at her wide eyed, then again it was all she could see through his masked hood. "You are hereby put under arrest for the ruthless act of terrorism." He flipped up onto his feet and went to punch her but she easily caught his hand before kicking him across the face and knocking him back down to the ground.

Khan knelt for a moment as his head reeling. In all his time he had never felt such pain in his life. He looked down to see blood slowly dripping from his mouth. He slowly looked to the young woman standing before him her long ruby hair flaring around her as she stared down at him in pure hatred. He went to get up and she spun kicking him across the face and back down to the ground.

"Stay down." She ordered as a Klingon rushed at her from the side. She threw her knife and it slammed into the middle of its head and out the back of its skull. Khan slowly stood and she slammed him back down to the ground. "I said stay down!" She yelled having no cuffs to put him in. He went to stand and she went to hit him again but he caught her hand gripping onto it as he stood up straight. She tried to pull her hand away and stared when she was incapable. She stared down at the gripping hand for a long moment before slowly looking up at the man who loomed over her.

"Hello…" He said.

"How-." A bang sounded and she was cut off as a great power source slammed into her and knocked her off the ridge and onto the harsh ground below.

"No!" Khan yelled as he turned and eradicated the Klingon warship that had fired upon them. He looked back to the young woman in question and tilted his head seeing the other woman from before rushing over.

"Aria!" Uhura slid to her side and slowly flipped her over.

"I'm fine! I was just scathed." She yelled as she slowly sat up the pain already gone.

"I thought they had gotten you!" She yelled pulling her to shelter.

"I'm fine…" She said. "My phaser is not though I'm afraid…" She said looking down at the fried piece of machinery. They slowly stood up straight and Aria's eyes widened as she saw Kirk get jumped by two Klingons. "Wait here!" She yelled to Uhura as she rushed forward. Khan watched as the girl took out five Klingons easily before flipping one of their plasma rays into her hands and shooting two down that threatened to kill a young man he had seen before.

"Captain!" She yelled pulling him to safety as a Klingon aimed its ray at her. Khan shot it down before it could shoot her.

"We're surrounded!" Uhura yelled taking Kirk from Aria.

"I got this!" Aria said standing. She froze as she watched Harrison jump a far distance from the ridge and take out six Klingons. She thought this man's only skill was his intelligence and use of technology in battle. It turned out his true skill was hand to hand combat. She slowly looked down at her arm which still ached from his grasp. He rushed towards them as he ripped his mask off. He went to rush at Kirk only to have Aria pull a knife and stick it to his throat instantly halting his movements.

"Drop your weapon!" Spock ordered aiming a gun at Harrison.

"How many Torpedoes?" He asked.

"Drop your weapon!" Spock ordered again only to have the gun shot out of his hand by the terrorist.

"How many Torpedoes!?" Harrison bellowed his eyes locked on a seething Kirk. "How many?!"

"72." Aria said and he looked to her for a long moment. She tilted her head seeing a small flash of fear in his eyes. He threw down his weapon as Kirk and Uhura stood.

"I surrender." He said and Aria tilted her head further.

"Sir orders?" Aria asked unsure if she should drop her knife or not. Khan tilted his head as he looked over the young woman before him. She was taking orders from the likes of Captain James Kirk? He had to wonder how this had happened? He had to wonder how she was even in existence. "Captain your orders please?" She asked her jaw clenching. Khan tilted his head, she was staring at him with pure undiluted hatred in her emerald eyes. He had to wonder how she was controlling herself, when he knew all she wanted to do was slit his throat.

"John Harrison, I hereby, in honor of Christopher Pike, accept your surrender… Aria weapon down." Her jaw clenched as the hatred within her eyes intensified and she bared her teeth slightly. Every fiber in her being wanted nothing more than to slit his throat and watch the warm blood let off steam into the cold Kronos air. "Lower your weapon Aria…" Her eyes narrowed further and Khan was becoming increasingly aware of her wanting to kill him. "Aria Adne drop your weapon…" He had a warning tone and in turn she slowly lowered her weapon as Kirk moved passed her. She jumped when he slammed his fist against the man's face. Aria tilted her head when she saw that John Harrison did not budge from the immense impact. She had to wonder how strong her Captain was, she had after all more than easily knocked Harrison off his feet.

"Captain." She said as he continued to feebly hit Harrison over and over again. "Captain." Aria said seeing him peel over. "Captain!" She caught his arm before he could hit Harrison again. Khan tilted his head as he looked the young woman over who looked to her Captain with genuine care. "You've been injured…" She whispered. "Please do not exhort yourself further." He pushed her away and she stumbled back. Khan went to take a step towards her but stopped seeing she had more than adequately regained ground herself. He looked back to Kirk who went to hit him again and Aria caught his arm once more. "Sir…" She said softly and he slowly looked to her as did Harrison. "Please… Stop now…" His jaw clenched and she slowly relinquished his hand which dropped. She watched as Kirk stared at Harrison for a long moment with such darkness it made Arias stomach give a nervous turn.

"Aria?" Kirk inquired.

"Yes sir?" She asked.

"Cuff him."

"Yes sir."

"If he gives you any trouble..." Kirk said as Spock gave her the cuffs.

"Yes sir?" She inquired looking to him.

"Kill him."

"Aye Captain." She said moving forward to Harrison. "Please…" She whispered and he looked down at her. "Make a fuss… Come on." She locked eyes with him. "I'm just dying for a reason to end this now…" He put his hands out slowly and her jaw clenched realizing he wasn't going to give her a reason to kill him.

"Think you could?" Khan asked as she cuffed his hands. "End it I mean?" She looked at him for a long moment before she bowed her head forward suddenly and slammed her forehead into his nose knocking him back against the ground.

"Commander Aria!" Spock scolded.

"Oh how clumsy of me… I tripped…" She said before grabbing onto the back of his jacket and pulling him to his feet while he smiled as two of the guards rushed forward and grabbed him and wheeled him away. They got onto the shuttle and he was instantly strapped in.

"Is everyone aboard?" Kirk asked as everyone strapped in.

"Not yet!" Uhura said as Aria walked on.

"I'm aboard head up." Aria said. Just as the door went to close a Klingon rushed in and tackled Aria to the ground.

"Mother fucker!" She yelled in surprise as she kicked him back.

"Sir Enemy aboard!" Uhura yelled her eyes wide.

"I've got this! Keep going we can't land again!" Aria yelled as she kicked the Klingon off.

"You heard her keep going!" Kirk yelled.

"Sir orders!?" Aria asked as she parried two punches away.

"You don't need orders to kill a Klingon Aria!" Kirk said as she was kicked down onto the ground.

Aria flipped up onto her feet and dodged three swings by the Klingon before grabbing onto its arm spinning and slamming it down over her shoulder. Uhura made a horrified noise as the arm gave a sick snap and the Klingon yelled in pain. Aria spun and landed a back fist across its face as it pulled a dagger and stabbed it at her. She grabbed onto its wrist and snapped it easily as it screamed in pain once more. She slammed her fist across the Klingons face twice before it moved forward and slammed her up against the wall of the shuttle threatening to stab her. She held onto the knife wielding hand for a long moment as she locked eyes with the Klingon. She knocked the weapon from its hand before grabbing its head and slamming it into the wall beside her shoulder before snapping its neck out right. Khan smiled as he watched the Klingon fall to the ground limp and still.

"Sir are we in orbit?" Aria asked as she picked up the knife she had taken away from the Klingon to look it over.

"Not yet." He said.

"Good." She pushed a button and the door to the shuttle opened. She kicked the Klingon out and waved goodbye as she closed it.

"Well done Aria!" Uhura said.

"Thank you thank you, I will be here all week." She said as she high fived Uhura.

"Aria hold onto something all the seats are taken." Kirk said.

"Yes Captain." She said.

"You could hold onto me if you like." Khan looked to one of the men that had brought him in. "What do you say Aria?" the man asked.

"I say that you refer to me as Commander Aria, Cupcake."

"Right, sorry Commander."

"No problem." She said before looking out the window. "God let's hope Chekov has everything right as rain."

"Aria."

"Yes sir?" She asked looking to Kirk.

"When we get to the ship you are to take full responsibility of the prisoner."

"Yes sir…" She said and Khan could tell she wasn't pleased. She locked eyes with him and he tilted his head at her. She averted her eyes as she looked over to the knife she had taken from the Klingon.

"You take trophies from those you concur…" She looked to John Harrison who had spoken. "Interesting."

"Sir?" Aria asked.

"Yes Aria?" Kirk inquired.

"The prisoner is talking does that count as giving me trouble?" Kirk smiled.

"Afraid not…" He said as Aria continued to lock eyes with Harrison. As the ship came in Aria walked over and un did the buckles on her prisoner.

"Come on then." She said and he stood. "Cupcake, Mr. Brent you're with me."

"Yes Commander." They said. They walked off the ship and Khan watched as men surrounded him. The walk was long and he couldn't help but notice the way everyone stared at him as he walked by. He also couldn't help but notice the way the men's eyes went from him right to Aria with a look of admiration and attraction. When they got to the brig Aria walked him into the prison cell. He looked her over for a long moment, he could see it. The inner struggle between doing what she wanted and doing what she was told.

"Hands." She said and he slowly outstretched them. She un did the cuffs and turned to leave. Kahn moved forward and took a hold of her wrist wheeling her around.

"Commander!" The men yelled raising their weapons.

"Cease fire." She said before they could shoot.

"You shouldn't turn your back on a person like me." Khan said and she tilted her head at him while quirking an eyebrow in what almost seemed like challenge.

"And why is that? Do you think you're dangerous?" She asked before smiling. "Trust me when I say… You can't hurt me." He slowly pushed up her sleeve.

"Is that so?" She slowly looked down at her arm which had ached since he had grabbed it back on Kronos. Her eyes rested on a strange mark upon her skin. Her eyes slowly widened as her mind snapped to realization.

"Bruise?" She asked her voice barely above a whisper.

"You're quite fragile when it comes to me dear…" He said softly and her eyes narrowed as she stared at him. He slowly let go of her arm and she to his surprise once again turned her back on him and walked away. He walked after her almost drawn to her in a way. Just as he was about to reach for her she turned and sent the barrier up between them. As they locked eyes he smiled softly at her and Aria could still see the dangerous gaze he held as he looked her over.

"Watch him while I change into my uniform, and for god sakes don't talk to him…." She said as she walked away.

"Yes Commander." Aria walked to the changing room off to the side and stopped seeing her uniform hanging. As she took her clothes off her eyes kept going to the bruise on her arm. Never once in her life had she ever had a bruise. And she couldn't understand how Harrison had caused it.

"_You're quite fragile when it comes to me dear…" _

She wasn't sure why but that sentence had allured her and angered her all at the same time. She pulled on her blue uniform and set her clothes aside before stretching and walking over to the mirror too look herself over. She was unscathed from the battle except for the small bruise on her arm. Her jaw clenched before she straightened out her uniform and walked out of the changing room. She stopped seeing McCoy Spock and Kirk in front of Harrison who had his arm outstretched.

"There you are." Kirk said as she walked over. "Where were you?"

"Changing into uniform sir." She said. "I tried to hurry…" She looked to see McCoy with a syringe in hand. "What's going on here Captain?" She inquired.

"We want to find out what makes this guy tick." He said as he watched McCoy do his work. "Why he doesn't fall when someone knocks him down things like that."

"I knocked him down." She said and Kahn smiled to himself.

"Yes thanks for that." Kirk said his arms crossing over his chest.

"Sorry sir…" She muttered. Harrison retracted his arm while McCoy sent the barrier breaker over to the side of the cell.

"You're hurt." McCoy said taking her arm in hand.

"I'm fine." She said pulling it away.

"That's a deep tissue bruise, I could take care of it easily."

"I'm really okay." She said.

"Well if you're sure, by the way while I'm here I'm going to need a blood sample." He said taking out another syringe.

"What for?" She asked and for the first time Khan could see a flicker of fear in her eyes. Either she was afraid of needles, or she had something to hide within her blood, something he was very sure he knew for certain.

"You were on a planetoid which we have no knowledge of, I want to make sure you're not sick, everyone has given up blood." He said and she looked him over for a moment. "What is it, hate needles?" McCoy inquired with a smile.

"A bit." She said her jaw clenching. "So just searching for Viruses things like that?" She inquired and he looked her over for a long moment.

"Yeah… Things like that." McCoy said.

"Fine." She put out her arm her jaw clenching as she did. He went to puncture her skin and stopped. He tried again and tilted his head.

"What is it?" Kirk asked.

"Tough hide… Like Harrison…" He muttered changing the needle.

"Bradshaw always said I had tough skin…" She said and Kirk smiled at her.

"All done." McCoy said before walking off.

"Why aren't we moving Captain?" Khan asked his eyes locking onto the Captains.

"He talks a lot, it's annoying." Aria said and Kirk smiled once more.

"Maybe we're not moving because there's something off with your warp core?" Aria slowly looked to Harrison who had a devious expression.

"What the hell did you do?" She asked and his eyes shifted to hers.

"Nothing."

"Captain?" She asked.

"Yes."

"Permission to the beat the hell out of the prisoner for information?" Kirk looked up in thought.

"You're not honestly thinking about it…" Spock muttered. "The prime directive-."

"Fine." He said before he could finish his sentence. "Permission denied."

"But…" Aria Shifted on her feet before looking to Kirk. "It'll be fun." She said and Kirk just smiled as he walked off. "Damn…" She muttered with a sigh before looking to Harrison who was staring at her. She shook her head before walking off to the control panel to look things over. "I wasn't going to kill him just make him bleed a bit... Like that's such a big deal…" She muttered to herself.

-o-

So there it is Chapter 1 of my Star Trek fic… I'm very new to this universe but I'm trying my best… I know I have bad grammar but I do have a severe dyslexia… I once had a beta but they stole my work so now I don't… But I try very hard to learn.


	2. In Truest Form

AN: so I wish I could thank the person but they only signed in as a guest, they pointed out that my characters tilt their heads like a hella lot and it turns out holy crap they do lol, so thank you for that observation I am watching out for it now lol.

Also thanks to all the super positive reviews you guys have been very accepting of my writing despite my extensive learning disabilities. So here we go chapter two and thanks again for reading guys you all are super super nice.

-o-

Aria sat in the Brig her legs crossed over one another. They were still stuck in enemy space and it was nearing the time for everyone to get some sleep. She hoped that a good night's rest might give everyone a fresh set of eyes and make it easier to fix the Enterprise. She couldn't believe Chekov the brilliant young man that he was hadn't figured out what was wrong with the warp core yet. Then again there was someone on the ship who knew but he wasn't feeling up to talking it seemed.

"Will you not sleep Commander?" Khan looked up to see a woman in front of Aria.

"No I find myself not tired… You go ahead Rina, I'll look after Harrison." She said with a kind expression.

"Yes Commander, be careful Commander."

"I will, good night Rina."

"Good night Commander." Khan watched as the woman left, and in so doing for the first time leaving him and Aria completely alone. He looked to Aria to see she had gone from a chair on the other side of the room to right in front of the glass. She had moved without him even realizing it. He slowly stood from his bench and walked over.

"You have questions?" He asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"No, I just want to make something clear." He titled his head. "You will not look at me. You will not talk to me. You will sit in your little corner and stay perfectly silent. Is that understood?" She asked.

"It's interesting." He said his intense hazel eyes flickering over her as he spoke.

"What is?" She asked.

"That you take such a commanding stance with your equal and not with-."

"You are not my equal." She said with a fiery gaze as her jaw clenched tightly. "You…" She looked him over. "You're beneath me." She went to walk away and his jaw clenched.

"Listen to me Aria-." She hit a button and smiled as he continued to talk but she couldn't hear anything. He suddenly stopped realizing what had happened. She waved at him before walking away over to her post and sitting down. "Fool." She just smiled at him as he turned away. He slowly walked over to his little corner as she had called it and sat down. He looked to her to see she was projecting the battle scenes from Kronos. It seemed she was making a study of him. He let his tongue flick against his teeth as he watched the man from before named Cupcake walk in. The man who had tried to hit on her, and charm her. That same man was now trying to sneak up on her it seemed.

"I know it's you Cupcake." She said and he stopped before smiling. She halted the footage and turned to look at him. "What can I do you for?"

"I brought you some food I saw you didn't eat." She smiled softly and Khans jaw clenched seeing it was a genuine smile.

"Uhm thank you…" She said with a soft expression.

"And look… There's a cupcake." He said pointing it out and she laughed.

"How very splendid Cupcake." She said as he sat down and handed her the tray. "Share with me?" She asked.

"Sure." He said with a smile. Aria took hold of an apple slice while Cupcake grabbed an orange. "So… You have good moves."

"I'm sorry?" She asked with a small laugh.

"You know fighting… I've never seen a girl fight like that."

"Well I'm not like most girls, you had good moves as well." She said and his chest swelled with pride as Khan just rolled his eyes. He couldn't believe she wasn't taking the normal human out right then and there.

"I could probably learn some things from you."

"Would you like too?" She asked perking up. "I love teaching." She said a smile. "I was going to ask the Captain if I could possibly do some classes for the red shirts on board."

"I'll back you." He said.

"I'm so glad you will, I was afraid coming aboard the ship that the men we're unlikely to take orders from me because well I'm you know-."

"Thin?" he asked and she laughed the sound ringing like a bell.

"No a woman."

"You're a woman?" He asked with a blank look and she laughed again. Khan stood and slammed his hand against the glass, Cupcake jumped while Aria just sighed as the names slowly reverberated off the walls. "Holy hell…" He muttered looking to John Harrison who had a rage filled look.

"He's like a child." She muttered looking to Harrison to see his eyes were glaring into her. "It seems he wants to talk… Can I have some time?"

"Of course I have some levels to check over, I'll come by later, if you want the company."

"Sure." She said with a smile as he headed off. When he was gone Aria sighed heavily and looked to Harrison. He was staring at her with a livid intense look. She went to go back to watching the archive footage on him when he slammed his hand against the glass once more. She didn't even jump just continued to stare at the footage. He slammed it again and she slowly stood before walking over to the cell her hands behind her back. "Yes your highness?" She asked with a drawl to her voice. He started to speak and stopped when she smiled cheekily. "Oh I'm sorry I forgot to turn the sound on…" She hit a button. "Go ahead." He started to speak and she smiled more.

"Turn it on!" He bellowed and she laughed, she couldn't hear his anger but she could see it plainly on his face.

"Oh I'm so sorry." She hit the button. "You're on now, I swear it." She said and his jaw clenched.

"You and I need to talk." She looked over his intense eyes.

"John Harrison, I am in no way allowed to speak to you unless to tell you to shut the hell up."

"Then listen."

"I don't want to." She went to hit the button.

"If you hit that button I swear I will kill every single living being on this ship!" He bellowed so loud it bounced off the walls. She stared at him for a long moment and he tilted his head. "No fear… Interesting… But we both know why you have none…"

"Get to your point Harrison." She said her jaw clenching.

"You and I are very much the same."

"Sing me a new tune Johnny boy that one's getting stale." His eyes narrowed for a moment.

"I would say it differently but this is all being recorded for the archives, now isn't it Aria?"

"Commander Adne to you."

"Ariadne…" He said and her jaw clenched. "The immortal goddess of Greek mythology… Couldn't have been more perfect name if you had chosen it yourself…" He stated with a dangerous look. "Maybe you did choose it your-."

"What do you want?" She asked her jaw clenching so loud she heard it pop.

"Take down the recording."

"No." She said.

"Then you'll never know."

"Then you'll have no one to talk to." She said.

"You're curious, it's in your nature…" He said with a smirk. "You'll eventually take down that recording to know what I have to say, and you should because you are not as invincible as you think Aria…"

"Commander Adne, and you think you know me Harrison?"

"I know what you are." He said in an almost hissing voice. "Hit the recording."

"Absolutely not."

"Hit the recording or I'll come out of here and do it for you."

"That impossible." He just quirked an eyebrow.

"Want to test me?" She looked off for a moment and he could see she was deciding if she would test him or not. She slowly walked over to the panel and let her hands scroll over the controls.

"You only get the Audio off…" She muttered and he slowly nodded He would work with what she gave him. She slowly walked over to the cell her jaw clenching as she looked him over. "Start talking I'm not giving you long."

"You and I are much alike… The only difference is you seem to not be as driven." He stated.

"I hate to admit this but I have no idea what the hell you're talking about."

"Yes you do…" He said walking right up to the barrier. "Think on it… The pain that spread through your arm when I gripped it, the bruise which is now probably long healed, how was that experience by the way, having a bruise?" She turned away from him and he knew it was to turn back on the audio recording. "Don't you want to know why you are the way you are!?" She stopped. "Why you hardly ever bleed, why you've never bruised until today, why you don't scar, why you're faster stronger and smarter than any man or woman around you?" She slowly looked over her shoulder at him. "You are part of a rare line Aria…"

"Commander Adne…" She corrected her jaw clenching.

"You are part of a long line…"

"What line?" She asked walking to him before shaking her head. "No I'm not listening to this."

"Your species is human…" She slowly looked to him and he could see the relief in her eyes. "But you are an augmented human…"

"Genetically Augmented?" She asked and he nodded. He watched as she looked off her eyes snapping with realization.

"There it is…" He said seeing she was figuring things out.

"Wait a minute… The Eugenics war…" She said softly and he smiled as he watched the wheels turn in her head. "Oh my god…" She said looking him over. She turned and instantly he tilted his head.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." She stopped before she could hit the button to hail the Captain. "They'll turn on you the second they find out who you are." She looked to him to see he had a near concerned expression. "Then again they're going to find out who you are very quickly when the good doctor tries to match my blood with any species in the archive… And the only species I'll match up with is you. And it's not going to come up the standard genetic human code Aria, it's going to come up unknown…" She stared forward. "You're a war tactics and battle expert, you must know what's going to happen when they find out that you have the same unknown blood as mine…"

"They'll suspect me of aiding you and look back at the archives see if we've conversed and they'll see the missing audio…" She said softly before she turned to him quickly and let her eyes narrow on him "You've screwed me Harrison and not in the good way!" She yelled in sheer panic.

"It had to happen… I had to tell you what you are… You couldn't walk through the rest of your considerably long life not knowing what you are or what you are capable of. I can help you…"

"That's nice…" She said backing away and going to hit the audio to record.

"You're not alone." He said with an intense look.

"I've always been alone. Alone is what protects me…" She said hitting the audio button before hailing the captain as Harrison tilted his head.

"Issues with Harrison?" Captain Kirk asked coming over the communicator.

"Yes well No… Look Captain, I have to tell you something sir."

"I'm already on my way with McCoy and Spock."

"Yes sir…" She said as she backed away from the communicator.

"You know what's going to happen Aria…" She slowly looked to Harrison.

"Commander Adne and no that's not what's going to happen…" She said. "The Captain will know I'm not-."

"The Captain isn't thinking clearly." He said and the double doors to the turbo lift opened. Aria turned just in time as two men slammed her down onto the panel and put her hands behind her back. "Don't take that." Harrison said enraged as he slammed his hand against the glass. He couldn't believe she wasn't even defending herself.

"Sir-."

"Shut up." Kirk said as she was put down into the seat. "Take another blood sample Bones."

"We're the same species but we're not the same." She said quickly as McCoy headed towards her with a syringe. "I just found out it's what I had to tell you sir." She said to the Captain who was staring at her with what seemed like hatred. "Sir, I swear I'm not aiding him."

"She's not." They all looked up to see Harrison looking them over. "I would have been able to do twice the damage if she had…"

"Sir I don't want to say believe the crazed terrorist…" Aria said and Kirk looked to her. "But please believe the crazed terrorist… He killed Bradshaw… Please don't label me a terrorist and in doing so label me the murderer of a man I called father… Please sir." She pleaded with wide eyed.

"Same regeneration as Harrison…" McCoy said looking over the blood scan.

"Put her in with Khan." Kirk said and her eyes widened.

"Sir." She said softly as she was lifted up onto her feet. "No please…" She said as the cuffs were undone. "I'm not working with him!" the barrier opened and she was shoved in violently. Khan caught her before she could slam into the floor. She watched in horror as Kirk raised the barrier. "Sir!" She rushed up to it. "I'm not working with him!" She yelled making the Captain wheel on her and walk up to the barrier. "Sir I swear I'm not aiding him… I'm not like him… Please let me out of here… I swear I'm not like him…"

"No but you're just as dangerous." Kirk said looking her over with an intense look before he began to walk away.

"Captain please!" She yelled slamming her hand up against the glass.

"Sir, this is highly illogical…"Spock said as they walked out.

"Captain!" She yelled slamming her hand up against the barrier. "After everything I've done you throw me in here with him!" She yelled and he turned. "Captain please."

"Until we're sure of who you are and that you're not working with him you'll stay in there." With that the Captain and the others left. Aria's jaw clenched as she stared down at the floor wide eyed.

"I told you." Harrison said and Aria let out a yell of anger before spinning swinging at him with a dangerous left hook.

"You son of a bitch!" Khan dodged the hit before grabbing her hands and slamming her up against the wall where he pinned her in place. She kicked his stomach sending him flying back into the wall. He fell to the ground and stared at her his jaw clenching as he did.

"Aria…" He said as he slowly stood.

"You screwed me over."

"You had to know-."

"Stay the hell away from me." She said with a deadly look before she sat down her hands going to her wrists that throbbed in pain from where he had grabbed her. Once more she had bruises, caused by him.

"Why did you let them throw you in here, why did you not fight back?" He inquired with a livid look. "You could have killed them and easily taken over the ship." She gave a cynical laugh.

"Because unlike you I have a moral compass and don't go around killing random people…" She muttered as she buried her head in her hands. "If Harold were here this would have never happened, hell I would have never even been on this ship if he were still around… How could the Captain just turn on me like that?"

"Because he's scared of you." She looked to him and he could tell she didn't believe him.

"We can hurt each other right?" she asked and he slowly nodded. "Then try to remember that the next time you go to talk, because if you do not shut your mouth I am going to rip the tongue out of it."

"It'd just grow back." Her eyes narrowed. "We're stuck in here we mind as well get acquainted."

"I don't want to get acquainted with you." She said her jaw clenching.

"You don't want to learn everything you can about yourself from me?"

"I don't need some psycho to tell me who he thinks I am." She muttered as she looked out at the barrier where Cupcake was standing. "Cupcake?" She asked walking over and he turned. "Cupcake, please put me in a different cell then this guy." She said.

"Sorry, I can't open that barrier, I can't let you out Commander…"

"Do you know how freaking dangerous and annoying this guy is?" She asked and Khan couldn't help but smile as he looked off.

"You're just as dangerous though…"

"I'm not going to hurt you, you gave me an apple…" She said trying to appeal to his foodie side. "Come on Cupcake I'll go quietly."

"Sorry." He walked over and hit a button.

"He did not just cut the audio on me…" Cupcake walked away.

"Irritating isn't it?" Harrison asked and she felt like trying to kill him again. She sighed heavily as she walked over to a bench and sat down. "So you think I'm a psycho?"

"Oh I know it." She said looking to him.

"Really?"

"You killed Harold."

"I've killed more than just Harold yet you seem stuck on that little fact… Was Harold like us or something?"

"No…" She said looking off.

"You said you thought you were alone… Why?" He asked. "You came from somewhere what about your parents?"

"Blown up." She muttered not wanting to tell him the whole truth. "I often wondered if they really died or if they were just thrown out into space and are still floating around out here."

"They'll be dead by now."

"How excellent." She drawled looking off.

"What did your parents tell you about us?"

"Just that I had to be careful when I played with other children, I was quite young when they passed."

"So you are clueless." He said and her jaw clenched. "Well not clueless you obviously know some things… Considering you were led by only your own devices you are quite skilled in managing your abilities."

"Oh god stop talking." She said sighing heavily.

"Don't you want to know the history of your people?"

"I already know it thanks to you… The Eugenics war, some big headed bloke by the name of Khan Noonien Singh decided to name our race superior to the humans and attempted to take over the entire fucking planet… Grand idea, if I ever meet that prick I swear to god I'll end him." Khan tilted his head. "Anyways this guy failed in his big scheme, he and all his crew including you were sent out into the verse on the ship the Botony Bay…"

"How did you know I was a member of the crew?" He inquired.

"I didn't until now." She said and he nodded with a near impressed smile.

"Clever."

"So what were you? A commodore? Engineering? Doctor? What?" He just smiled and she tilted her head. "Interesting when I don't want you to speak you blabber about, when I do want you to speak you shut up, I'll have to remember that." She sat back. "Why did you have my back with the Captain?" she asked and he looked to her.

"Because we may not work together but we are the same kind…"

"Well…" Her jaw clenched as she looked off. "Thanks…" She muttered the admission making her stomach give a sick turn.

"I'm surprised you're thanking me…"

"Don't be surprised if it never happens again."

"The humans turn on you and still-."

"We are human as well Harrison." She said her intense emerald eyes shooting to him. "Just a little advanced."

"A little?" He scoffed. "Try extremely advanced."

"Now you sound like that Khan guy."

"Good…" He said.

"What a hell of a history to have... Congratulations Aria your people murdered Millions of innocents…" She buried her head in her hands. She sat back and looked out the barrier her anger flying as she did.

"You want out?" Khan asked looking her over.

"Of course I want out." She said sighing.

"You could… Very easily."

"I need to prove myself once more."

"Prove yourself to the likes of them? I don't understand it… We are the superior race."

"We are the same race Harrison." He leapt off his feet and gripped onto her neck and threw her up against the wall. Her chest heaved as she stared at him wide eyed. He had moved so fast she had barely had time to react to him.

"People of the same race care for one another…" He said his face inches from hers. "I have you here by the throat and the men sworn to protect you whilst in the brig make no movement to help you…" She gripped onto his wrist as she looked over to see Cupcake and the others just staring. "Now here I have you by the throat, are you in pain?" She looked to him her jaw clenching in defiance. "Are you in pain Aria?" He asked his hot breath sweeping over her lips.

"No…" She said softly.

"But I could cause it." He said as he let his eyes travel over her. "Couldn't I?"

"Yes." She said with a narrowed gaze.

"Why don't I?" Her jaw clenched she hated in that moment how he was controlling her. "Why don't I Aria?" he asked moving closer to her so his chest pressed against hers. "Aria… Why don't I?"

"Because we are the same kind…" She said reluctantly. He slowly relinquished the hold on her neck and backed away his hands held up where she could see them, so she would not attack. "They have forsaken you…" She looked to the others who seemed to be relieved that he had let her go. "It's time to repay the favor." She slowly looked back at him.

"The Captain will change his mind." She said and he looked her over.

"I admire your loyalty but inform you that it is misguided."

"Who would you rather me have loyalty for Harrison?" She asked walking to him. "You?"

"Yes." She laughed and he tilted his head.

"Never." She said getting in his face. "I took an oath when I joined Star Fleet, and it meant something to me, I won't ever turn my back on that."

"I am your kind!" He bellowed.

"I don't care!" He went to slap her down but halted his hand right before it was to connect to her cheek. "Go ahead…" She said softly her eyes blazing. "Do it… I've been waiting for a good reason to rip your spine from your body…"

"I said it before and I'll say it again, we don't hurt one another… Not now that we are aware of one another's presence that is. Listen to me now though, what I do, I do for us-."

"There is no us."

"There very much is an us now Aria."

"Commander Adne." She said her voice shaking with anger.

"Aria?" She turned and looked to Kirk who was standing at the barrier. "You can come out now."

"Thank you sir…" She said and Khan tilted his head as he watched her walk to the barrier which raised. She walked out and Kirk patted her on the back. "Why am I out if I may ask?"

"Spock informed me that I was being illogical, you have given us no reason to not trust you completely…" He said and she could tell he still did not trust her. "Are you alright? Things got rough in there…"

"Nothing I couldn't handle…" She said before looking to Harrison. "He was very informative while I was in there…"

"The Eugenics war…" Spock said as Harrisons eyes narrowed.

"Which explains why that popsicle is over three hundred years old in that torpedo." McCoy said.

"You found a person in those?" Aria inquired.

"Nearly took my damn arm in the process of breaking it open." McCoy said.

"Clever…" Aria said looking to Harrison who was still staring at her. "So you hid the members of your crew-." She cut off as she stared wide eyed at Harrison. "Wait…"

"Figuring it out?" He inquired.

"Who are you?" She asked softly and he smiled.

"Well he's not John Harrison, because according to our records John Harrison didn't exist until about a year ago. Who the hell are you?" Kirk asked.

"You think this changes anything?" Harrison asked looking at Aria with a dark look.

"Who are you?" Kirk asked.

"You think that I believe you?" He asked Aria.

"Stop talking to her, who are you?" Kirk inquired.

"You think I believe this?" He asked again. "You and I are the same Aria Adne, as much as you try to fight it it's true…"

"What's your name!?" Kirk yelled.

"Khan." He said looking to Kirk with an intense gaze. "My name is Khan." Aria stared at Khan for a Long moment. Everything she had said everything she had done to him, he hadn't tried to kill her once. Scare her maybe. She had insulted him threatened him and he never once had tried to hurt her, not at least when he found out what she was. She shook her head and looked off.

_Who I was… Not what… I'm not a what… I'm human… Just a bit more advanced… He didn't turn on me though… Unlike the Captain… _She slowly looked to see Khan was staring at her.

"So you are Khan, the man I've only read about..." Aria said softly looking him over.

"What the hell are you?" Kirk asked and Aria slowly looked over her Captain.

"I am a vestige of a time long passed…" Khan said and Aria slowly looked back to him to see he was gazing at her. "Genetically engineered to be superior as to lead others to peace in a world at war… Despite our good work we, my crew and I, were condemned…" His jaw clenched. "As criminals… War Criminals… Forced into exile. We slept for centuries hoping that when we finally awoke from our deep slumber that things would be different… Peaceful. But as a result of the destruction of Vulcan." He looked to Spock. "Star Fleet began to aggressively search distant quadrants of space. My ship was found adrift I alone was awoken…" He said looking to Aria.

"Why were you woken up?" She asked and Kirk looked to her, he had been about to ask the same question. "Who made the decision to wake you up in the first place? They must have known who you were what you were capable of…"

"Admiral Marcus was very much aware…" Khan said.

"Admiral Marcus revived you?" Spock inquired.

"To help him advance his cause."

"Why would a Starfleet Admiral ask a three hundred year old frozen grandpa for help huh?" Kirk asked.

"Because…" Khan said. "I am superior."

"At?"

"Everything Kirk… Absolutely Everything…"

"What was his cause what were you working on?" Aria asked and he looked to her.

"Admiral Marcus needed to respond to an uncivilized threat in an overly civilized world… And to do so he needed a great mind. A warriors mind. My mind."

"To design weapons and warships?" Aria asked and he smiled as he nodded.

"You're suggesting the Admiral violated every regulation he'd kill to uphold simply because he wanted to use you?" Kirk asked.

"To exploit your intellect?" Spock inquired.

"He wanted to exploit my savagery…"

"Why would he want that?" Spock inquired.

"In a fight…" Aria said making Kirk and Spock look to her. "Intellect alone isn't enough you have to be ruthless… Savage as Khan says…"

"Mr. Spock…" Khan said making him look to him. "You can't even break a rule how could you ever be expected to break bone? Marcus used me to design weapons to help him realize a vision of a complete militarized Star Fleet… He sent you to use said weapons… To fire my torpedoes on an unsuspecting planet… Then he crippled you…"

"The warp core sir…" Aria said looking to Kirk who slowly nodded catching on.

"Yes… Froze you in place, in enemy space none the less." Khan said. "There's only one evitable outcome to this… Why don't you ask your Chief Battle Expert what it is?"

"Aria?" Kirk asked.

"The Klingons will come searching for whoever fired upon them… With the ship as crippled as it is we would have no chance at escape… We'd only be able to fight not flee, and fighting the Klingons with their advanced weaponry would lead to a sensational defeat…" She said seeing the whole battle in her head. "Hundreds would die bloody and Admiral Marcus would order a state of war in the name of the fallen USS Enterprise…"

"No…" Kirk said.

"He would get the war he's been wanting…" Aria said softly.

"That's insane…" Kirk said.

"No it's not…" Aria said.

"Aria why the hell would he want to start a way with the Klingons?" Kirk asked.

"A war with the Klingons is going to happen eventually sir." Aria said and Kirk looked to her. "It's not a question of if but when, the Admiral must have wanted to get it over with… Not to mention when he won with the advancements Khan made to ships and weaponry he would take the glory for himself… It's brilliant in a twisted way…" She muttered before looking back to Khan whose eyes were darkening with rage.

"Fine, so he wants a war but what about you Khan?" Kirk asked looking to him. "I watched you open fire on a room full of unarmed men and women, and yet you call yourself a peacekeeper? You murdered them in cold blood!"

"Marcus took my crew from me!" Khan bellowed turning away from them. "He threatened their lives on a daily basis… He put the lives of the people I hold most dear into the balance and what he expected me to respond and not react!?" Everyone jumped but Aria who kept looking to Khan. "My crew are my people, are my family, is there anything you would not do for your family Captain?" He asked his eyes locking with Kirks. "I tried to end the blackmail peacefully… I tried to smuggle them out in the very torpedoes I designed… But I was caught… Discovered… I alone fled… I had no choice but to leave them behind…" He said softly and Aria could see the pain in his expression. "And when I did I had every reason to believe that Marcus had murdered every single one of them…" He turned away and in that moment Aria spotted a tear rolling down his cheek. "What was I to do? Just let that lie?" He asked before turning. "Would you let that lie Kirk?"

"Aria, a rundown on Khan." Kirk said and she continued to stare at Khan who looked to her. She stayed silent for a long moment and in that moment Khan knew he was winning her over. "Commander Aria."

"Not much is known about Khan Noonien Singh…" She said looking off. "The data has long be lost sir…"

"Lost?" He asked and she looked to him.

"I'm sorry sir it was a very long time ago, I have tried to read up on the Eugenic wars many times but again the data was long lost… I can try and look into it once more."

"You do that…" He said before walking off with McCoy and Spock.

"Captain?" She asked walking off after him.

"Yes Aria?" he inquired.

"Permission to shut audio and video off, I think he would be more open to talk to me if I did, like he did before when the audio was off. Maybe I could find out more about him, I think he trusts me because we are the same… Well genetically anyways."

"Not video… Just audio."

"Yes sir." She said as he walked off.

"The guards will stay with you."

"I don't need them sir." She said.

"Yes you do…" He said before turning and walking out.

"Why they didn't help me before when I was in the tank with him!?" She questioned as Kirk walked onto the turbo lift. He turned and looked at her for a long moment before the doors closed and he disappeared. She looked to the men in the room.

"Follow me boys." She said and they followed her into one of the brigs. "I want you to check this over for issues." She said.

"Yes Commander." They said. She backed out and Khan watched as she hit a button trapping them in. "Commander!"

"Pay back." She said and the men scowled as she took out the Audio both ways so she couldn't hear them and they couldn't hear her. "Bastards…" She muttered as she started to pace and turned off the audio recording in Khans cell.

"You lied to your Captain about not knowing anything about me..." He said and she looked to him as she continued to pace.

"Do shut up." She said. "Oh no wait talk as much as you like, that's how you work right I tell you to shut up you talk more, I want you to talk you say nothing…"

"Why?" He asked.

"So that's not how it works…" She muttered.

"Why did you lie?"

"I don't know alright?" She asked looking to him as she came to a stop. "The Admiral was really holding our people in the balance?" Khan tilted his head with an intrigued look. "What?" She asked blinking.

"You said our people…" He said.

"Well I meant our kind." She said and he looked off.

"Yes." He said. "He was holding their lives in the balance."

"Why?" She asked. "Why even bother our kind?"

"Because he knew we were superior in intellect…" He said.

"Still why not let you guys sleep? I mean what idiot would wake up war criminals?"

"I never said the man was smart."

"Why did you put our kind into those torpedoes? Why would you do such a thing?" She asked softly and he looked her over.

"I was trying to smuggle them out." He said. "But I was spotted… forced to flee on my own… I was sure that Marcus had killed them all… Everyone I hold most dear… The last of my kind… Wiped from the earth…"

"Why did you think that?" She asked.

"Because he told me he did… I was admittedly blinded by rage… I thought I was alone… Then I saw you…" She looked off her jaw clenching. "Aria-."

"So now there are 72 of our kind strapped into death traps?" She asked cutting him off.

"Yes."

"What are you going to do?" She asked and he stayed silent. "Khan what are you going to do?" He didn't answer and she gave a cynical laugh as she looked off. "Fine…" She went to turn around.

"Your Captain no longer trusts you." She halted her movements and bowed her head. "As evident by leaving the red shirts with you… You no longer trust your Captain as evident in the way you lied to him about me and locked the men in brig so they could not hear what we spoke of…"

"You're point?" She inquired as she slowly looked to him.

"My point is, is that your loyalty seems to have gotten you nowhere… Maybe it's time to switch."

"To you?" She asked. "Never."

"Why not?"

"Because you killed the only person who ever walked this earth that genuinely cared about me." She said with an intense look.

"Were you in love with this man? This… Harold…"

"No… But I did love him… He had raised me since I was small." She said.

"So he was like a father."

"He was my father." She said before looking off. "At least the only one I had ever known…"

"I am sorry for your loss." He said trying to keep his jaw from clenching.

"Sorry that I lost him or sorry that you murdered him?"

"Sorry for your loss but even more sorry that I was the one who killed him and caused you such pain…" She slowly looked to him surprised at his admission which had been completely genuine. "If you join me I promise you I will do everything in my power to set things right."

"It's never going to be right…" She said her jaw clenching furiously as she walked away, she released the other men and instantly Khan knew the discussion was over. She sat down at the desk and stared forward her jaw clenching as she did.

"_Harold!" She screamed as she lifted rubble away from where he'd been standing not minutes ago. _

"_Miss he's dead we must evacuate!" A man yelled as he grabbed a hold of her. _

"_Leave me alone!" She pushed the man away a good fifteen feet, not caring to control her strength. "Harold!" She yelled hoping he would yell back. "Harold come on!" She lifted a huge piece of rubble away and let a horrified sob escape as she stared at the bloody face of her only friend in the world. "Harold…" _

"_Aria…" _

"_Why'd you push me out of the way?" She asked softly. "Why would you do that?" _

"_You have to look out for yourself now…" _

"_No… No you're going to be fine… Just fine…" _

"_I'm not like you Aria…" _

"_Harold please…" _

"Commander Aria are you alright?" Khan tilted his head seeing Arias jaw set in a firm line. "Commander?" There was a haunted look to her eyes as she stared at the archive footage. "Commander-."

"Can a woman complete a thought around here without being interrupted?!" She asked and Khan smiled as he watched her regain her ground. "Take a walk would you?" Cupcake slowly headed away as Aria's jaw clenched.

"Aria, found anything else out on Khan?" Kirk asked walking in.

"Well he talks a lot sir…" She said and Kirk smiled. "The audio has been off all night though. I haven't talked to him all night."

"You talked to him for a little while."

"Yeah and nothing came of it." She said looking to him. "Look if you want to throw me in the brig again you mind as well." Her jaw clenched while Kirk looked off. In his time as Captain no one in his command had ever taken such a tone with him.

"Is there a problem Commander Aria?" Khan smiled as he watched her stand quickly and wheel on the Captain who took a step back as every gun in the room was pointed at her. Her jaw clenched as she looked over the Captain and Khan knew she was working very hard to quell her anger.

"Of course not… Captain." She said and he walked up to her.

"I think you've spent too much time with Khan… Why don't you get some rest Commander?"

"I don't sleep… Captain." The way she said Captain was in pure spite.

"There is clearly an issue so what is it?"

"Well right now your boys have their phasers to kill on me and not stun. Which by the way they'll still just stun me."

"I see." He said. "You're upset that I threw you in the brig with Khan."

"No I'm upset you didn't trust me sir." She said.

"I hardly know you Aria."

"But you knew Bradshaw, and you know he trusted me."

"Did he even know what you are?" Her jaw clenched and he saw a flash of pain cross her expression.

"Yes." She said softly. "Yes he did… And by the way I'm not a what." She said. "I'm a who. The only difference between you and I is that I can run faster jump higher and throw people easier…"

"Not to mention she's incredibly intelligent." They looked to Khan. "More so then anyone else on this ship, other than myself."

"Stay out of it." She said with a glare and Khan just smirked.

"I think you've become too familiar with Khan." Kirk said and she looked to him.

"Then put me back at my post on the bridge." She said. "I'm a battle expert not a baby sitter."

"No… I think you should just-."

"What are we going to do about the torpedoes and the people inside?"

"Right now they are a bargaining chips…"

"Bargaining chips, Captain they're living breathing-."

"Popsicles?" He asked and her eyes narrowed.

"Sir-."

"Aria I think you need to remember that Khan and his crew were sentenced to death for being war criminals."

"They were just following orders of their captain…"

"You have sympathy?"

"Not for Khan." She said. "He is a murderer, but his crew-."

"Are also murders."

"They were under orders!" Khan smiled at her outburst. She was standing up for her kind. "You can't use them as poker chips sir they're living breathing people!"

"Stand down Aria!" He shouted and she stared at him for a long moment.

"Sir." His communicator clicked on.

"Yes Sulu?" He asked pulling it as he continued to lock eyes with Aria.

"We have a ship fast approaching."

"I'm heading to the bridge now." He said closing the communicator. "It's probably a Klingon war ship, I could use my battle expert."

"It's not the Klingons if it were this ship would have been hit already." Aria said looking off.

"Then who could it be?"

"You know who it is…" Khan said and Kirk looked to him.

"The Admiral…" Aria said and he looked back to her.

"What should we do?" Kirk asked.

"You want my help captain?" She asked and his eyes narrowed.

"You need to put your anger aside."

"You need to put your vengeance aside… Sir." She said with a tone that surprised Kahn. Her loyalty for Kirk was breaking and he couldn't be more pleased.

"I am sorry." He said. "I judged you for your blood instead of your character." Her expression softened. "Please forgive me."

"You're forgiven." And Khan blinked, all his hard work and scheming to break her loyalty had been for nothing with the simple apology by Kirk. It seemed Aria had a weakness after all, empathy, and forgiveness. "We should move Kahn to the medical bay it's just as secure as the brig… If it is the admiral he'll want Kahn for himself to hide what he's had him do and his involvement with him… When he asks where Kahn is you tell him anywhere but the brig or the medical bay… And whatever you do, do not drop your shields."

"Will do." He said before running off. She walked over to the Cell and released Kahn who slowly walked out his eyes locked on hers the whole time.

"Commander the cuffs." Cupcake said holding them out.

"He won't run or try anything… Will you?" She asked.

"No… I won't." he said and she slowly nodded before walking away. "Follow me…" He followed her to the turbo lift and threw the boys a smirk as he got on. Before they could join the doors closed and they headed towards the medical bay. Aria took a breath before she reached forward and hit the halt button. Kahn slowly looked to her to see she was staring forward.

"What is it Aria?" He asked and she continued to stare forward for a long moment. Maybe his scheming hadn't been for nothing. "Aria?" She shook her head.

"Nothing…" She said softly before she hit the button that made the elevator begin to move once more. He tilted his head as he looked her over. It was the first time she hadn't tried to make him refer to her by her last name. He slowly reached forward and hit the button stopping their travels once more. He heard Aria take a calming breath as he looked her over.

"What is it?" She stayed silent. "Aria?"

"Why were we genetically altered?" She asked. "It's not in the history…"

"As I've said… To lead the world out of darkness…" He said.

"The way I see it… The world is very dark right now…"

"Yes it is…" He said.

"I… Hate you." Her voice shook and he looked off as his jaw clenched. He wasn't sure why but her words had cut him.

"I know."

"That being said…" He slowly looked to her. "The Admiral cannot get away with what he has done…" She slowly looked to him. "In your vengeance against him I will help you…" He slowly nodded. "We've been away too long." They both reached for the button and stopped when their fingers gingerly touched one another. They halted their movements at the same time and stared down at their touching fingers. Aria moved forward and hit the button before pulling her hand away and staring forward with a determined look. While Khan looked over Aria with a raised eyebrow. The doors opened to the Medical Bay and they walked in.

"Good god what is he doing out of cuffs?" McCoy asked.

"He could just break out of them, so there's no point." She said as she led him over to a gurney. "Do sit." She said and he slowly did so.

"I want him in Cuffs."

"You're quite safe…"

"Aria-."

"Bones, he's under my care it's my call not yours, putting him in cuffs will just agitate him and trust me you do not want to agitate this man." McCoy looked her over for a long moment.

"Fine then, but I'm doing more tests… On both of you." Khan saw a flash of anger go across her expression. She sighed before she walked over to a wall and leaned back as she stared forward her arms crossed over her chest. He let his eyes roam over her slender figure. He hadn't ever paid attention to women, never having time thanks to the war, but in this quiet moment he found himself having time for her.

She had fair skin, such fair skin, in some light it seemed to glow. Her eyes were large and round and being of an emerald green color that off set her hair which was the deepest red he had ever seen. It was an effect of the genetic engineering. Their eyes and hair were the truest color they could be. Never a murky brown or a dirty blonde, it was one thing or nothing at all. His eyes travelled up her perfectly defined legs before his eyes rested on hers to see she was staring back at him. It seemed while he was making a study of her she was making a study of him. She slowly moved her eyes away from his to stare forward.

In the time she spent with Kahn she had never taken the time to do anything but look at him in hatred. But in that quiet moment within the Medical Bay she had taken a chance. He had a devil may care sort of way to him. With his coal black hair and cerulean eyes she couldn't help but admit that the genetic engineering had done him well.

"Captain is on the screen." McCoy said. Aria walked over and turned it on her arms crossing over her chest.

"Here we go…" She said softly.


	3. Hostile Takeover

"Look at that ship…" Aria said softly as she walked towards the screen. "Carol do you see this?"

"Clearly meant for battle…" She said softly.

"I want one…" Aria said softly and Kahn smiled to himself as he looked her over. She may sympathize with the humans but she was a warrior all the same. She looked down at a table and tilted her head. "Great…" she muttered.

"What is it?" Carol asked.

"He's scanning the ship." Aria said.

"Sir is there something I can help you find?" Kirk asked and Aria took a step back to watch the broadcasted discussion for ship record.

"The terrorist John Harrison, where is he son?" The Admiral asked.

"You mean Khan?" Kirk inquired.

"Ah shit… You uhm… You talked to him." The Admiral said with a smile.

"It was kind of unavoidable sir…"

"What did he tell you? That I held his hands behind his back and forced him into servitude?" Kahn watched as Arias jaw clenched.

"In a way sir." Kirk answered.

"I know he's your father but he's one smug bastard…" Aria said and Carol looked to her.

"I made a mistake." The Admiral said. "I thought Kahn could be objective and help us-."

"In a war with the Klingons sir?" Kirk inquired.

"That war is imminent so yes, I needed his mind to create weapons far more advanced than the Klingons were making… The point is I made a mistake in trusting him when I woke him up. Don't you go making the same mistake I did by trusting his lies about being a peace keeper or in this case some victim, let me take it from here Kirk, where is he?"

"Why don't we talk about the torpedoes he put upon this ship with 72 people trapped inside…" Aria muttered her jaw clenching and making Khan look to her.

"About those Torpedoes sir, you are aware there are people inside them yes?" Kirk asked. "I mean you would know you were the one who caught Khan putting them inside after all…"

"Kirk-."

"You were going to knowingly have me kill-."

"He put those people in those torpedoes, I'm sorry if I didn't want to burden you with that fact."

"So you wanted me to fire them into space, end 72 lives, while starting a war?"

"You saw what that bastard did on his own can you imagine what would happen if he managed to wake up his crew!?" The admiral shouted. "His race, the augments are dangerous." Aria instantly felt eyes go to her and she didn't dare shift under their gaze. "They are stronger, more intelligent, and hell of a lot more tactical when it comes to battle, and boy are they aware of it… Don't sympathize with him Kirk don't get played be him. Khan his crew were condemned to death as war criminals and it is a sentence we all must carry out now or more people are going to die god forbid… So I'm going to ask you again Kirk… Where is he? Where is Khan?"

"Don't tell him…" Aria said. "Don't tell him…"

"Engineering sir." Kirk answered.

"That a boy."

"I'll take it from here…" The transmission went dead and Aria sighed as she turned back to Kahn who was being looked over by McCoy.

"Bones I would not keep poking at him like he's a pin cushion." She said as he went to draw more blood. "If you need some genetic material to look at take more of mine it's less dangerous to." She said stretching out her arm.

"Right." He said while Kahn tilted his head as he watched McCoy draw her blood. "Thanks." He said. "Can I ask a question?"

"How am I around when my people were hailed as war criminals?" She asked.

"Yes." McCoy said and Aria gave a shrug.

"Wish I knew, my parents died before they could tell me." He slowly nodded.

"Well maybe something in your blood will explain how you are still around…" He said with a smile.

"Maybe…" She said.

"Thanks for letting me take a sample."

"Anything to help…" She said before looking up.

"You're not feeling homicidal are you?" He asked and she looked to him. "Or… Superior."

"Never with you doctor." She said and he smiled as she looked up.

"We're moving."

"Warp speed." Carol said.

"You're shitting me." She said. "This is his plan?" Aria asked. "Seriously?" she gave a cynical laugh.

"At least we're running." McCoy said not seeing the issue.

"You can't outrun a ship like that." Aria said pointing at the screen the ship had just been seen on. "Not a ship like that, and now Marcus will make us all pay for it…" Carol instantly ran from the room. "Carol?" She ran after her. "It won't help!" The Turbo Lift doors closed blocking her and Aria turned cursing. "No one ever listens to me." She muttered.

"What's going on?" McCoy asked.

"Get ready Bones you're about to become very busy." She said.

"What are you-." She ship gave a sudden violent lurch and everyone within the room went flying. Kahn crossed the area between him and Aria and caught her right before she could slam into a wall filled with glass medical supplies. She stared at the glass for a long moment before slowly looking to Kahn who still held her in his arms.

"Are you alright?" He asked as she slowly stood up straight.

"Yes… Thank you." She said before she heard screaming. She looked to the medical bay screen to see many levels of the enterprise ripped open.

"Dear god." McCoy said seeing all the bloody bodies. The Ship gave another lurch and Aria stumbled into Kahn before pulling her communicator.

"Captain you must stop the ship if we keep running he'll keep shooting! Let Carol talk to her father! Let her buy us some time!" She pleaded.

"Stay out of it Aria!" His voice came.

"Sir you brought me on this ship as your battle expert now listen to my expertise when we're in battle!"

"Stay out of it it's an order!"

"Damn it no one ever listens to me!" She yelled in sheer anger.

"Sir stop!" They looked to the screen to see Carol. "Dad it's me, it's Carol." Marcus came on the screen and Aria tilted her head.

"Looks like he listened…" She muttered.

"Dad, you can't… You can't do this… I can't believe that the man who held me as a child who raised me is capable of such savagery as killing hundreds of innocent people… Now…" Carol took a shaky breath. "If I'm wrong you're going to have to do it with me on the ship."

"Wrong threat…" Aria said softly.

"Why?" McCoy asked.

"Well…" The Admiral said. "You're wrong about that Carol…" Aria turned away.

"What's going on?" McCoy asked.

"He's beaming her out…." Aria said softly as her eyes shifted and Khan could see she was trying to think of a way to save everyone.

"What happens now?" McCoy asked and she stayed silent as her jaw clenched. "Commander Aria what happens now?" She slowly looked to him with a blank expression. "Aria... What happens now?"

"We die." She said and she saw fear strike the doctor. "He'll obliterate us…" She looked to Kahn and he could see the question she wanted to ask most in her eyes.

"Yes…" he said and she looked off with an unreadable expression.

"Yes what?" McCoy asked and Aria didn't say anything just listened as the Captain pleaded with the Admiral to let the crew live.

"If it's any consolation Kirk, I was never going to let any of you live… You knew too much." The Admiral said.

"Jesus." McCoy said as the transmission went dead. "Aria…" She looked to him. "You're the battle expert on board you have to do something."

"Well the captain won't listen to me will he?" She asked turning on him.

"Aria-."

"Still." She said cutting him off. "You're right I have to do something…" She ran towards the Turbo Lift.

"Commander Aria where are you going!?" McCoy called. Kahn stood up to follow her but stopped as a group of men pointed phasers towards him set to kill. He looked to Aria who turned in the Turbo Lift and faced him. They locked eyes with each other for a long moment and to his surprise she gave a nod his way. He bowed his head to her as the doors closed. His jaw clenched as he looked off. There were a number of things Aria could be doing and each one of them incredibly dangerous. She was one of his kind, and in so being, he couldn't help but worry about her. The doors opened up once more and he held in the urge to breathe a sigh of relief seeing it was Aria coming out the door but then glared when his eyes set on Kirk.

"Kahn that ship it's of your design?" he asked walking up to him.

"Yes." He answered with a stone like expression.

"What type of ship is it?" Kirk inquired.

"Dreadnaught class made for battle with an unlimited crew unlike other starships it is made solely for war." He said.

"You know that ship?" Kirk asked and Khan nodded. "Listen… I will do everything in my power to make sure that you answer for your crimes, from 300 years before now to the latest attacks…" Khan tilted his head. "But for right now… I…" His jaw clenched. "I need your help."

"In exchange for what?" Khan inquired with a steel gaze.

"Your crew." He said and Aria looked to him before Khan smiled and tilted his head making her look to him. "I'll keep them alive, keep them safe."

"Oh but Captain, you can't even keep your own crew alive or safe…" Khan said with a dark expression.

"Khan…" He slowly looked to Aria. "Please help us save the enterprise." She implored softly. "No one else has to die…" Khan slowly stood his eyes still locked on hers.

"We have contact on the ship?" He asked.

"How do you know that?" Kirk inquired as Khan continued to look over Aria.

"Because we haven't been obliterated yet someone must have shut down the guns."

"We do." He said.

"Patch him through we need to get to a hatch to space jump." He said as they started to walk towards the Turbo Lift.

"Aria where are you going?" Kirk asked.

"I'm coming with you." She said. "I have experience jumping from one ship to another across space."

"When?" He asked with a raised eyebrow as they boarded the lift.

"I can't really talk about it." She said as the doors closed.

"What do you mean you can't talk about it?" Kirk asked looking to her.

"It's… Uhm…" She shifted on her feet. "Classified." They both looked to her this time.

"Classified you've done classified work?" Kirk asked.

"Feel stupid for not listening to me before?" She inquired.

"A little…" He muttered looking off.

"Good." She said and he looked to her.

"Aria I'm sor-."

"Save it for if we live through this." She said and he slowly nodded.

"Sir?" A Scottish voice came over.

"Scotty?" Aria asked looking at the captain's communicator.

"Oi Lass is that you?" The voice came and she laughed making Khan look to her.

"Scotty where the hell are you?" She asked with a worried expression.

"I'm on the Dreadnaught Vengeance, I just saved all your asses. Should have backed me with those torpedoes lass."

"I stand my decisions to keep them on the ship Scotty." She said.

"You alright Lass were you injured when the ship was hit?"

"No I'm fine Scotty are you okay?"

"Fine lass, you forget all the missions I used to run with your dad when we were well wee." She smiled.

"Listen here you need to find air lock hatch 45 it'll be in the bunker." Khan said while Aria flipped open her communicator.

"Bridge this is Commander Aria Adne."

"Commander this is acting captain Spock, what can I do for you?"

"You need to align the ships air lock with airlock 45 on the enemy ship."

"Aligning ship now." Spock said.

"Thank you Commander Spock." She said as she flipped closed the communicator.

"That's our Aria always a step ahead." Scottys voice came.

"You can complement me all you like when we're in the same room together but first are you anywhere near the bunker?" She asked.

"On way but I have news, they're getting the ship back online, and blocking any controls from outside the bridge, they'll have full power in ten minutes and will destroy the ship in that time."

"They'll be nothing you can do?" Kirk asked.

"Nothing sir." Scotty answered.

"I'll meet you both at the hatch." Aria said as the doors opened and she ran out.

"Aria!" Kirk called before it closed up again. "Where the hell is she going?"

"To change the female uniform isn't tactical…" Khan muttered. "Isn't it obvious?" Kirks jaw clenched violently. Anytime Khan spoke all he wanted to do was rip his tongue out. He had to wonder how Aria had spent well over 24 hours with him straight. He stared forward as the wheels in his head began to turn. Maybe Aria hadn't gone stark mad because she and Khan had been working together all along. Then again the hatred she had for him in the beginning was true, and there was no way Aria could fake such an emotion. Now though he had to wonder if maybe his chief battle expert had gone rouge, had begun to sympathize with Khan. He was her kind after all. He couldn't imagine what it would be like thinking you were alone for so long just to be thrown into the same room with someone just like you.

_They aren't just like one another though, Aria isn't a homicidal lunatic… Still… Sympathy could have happened… I have to take precaution… For the sake of my crew and ship… _

The doors to the lift opened and they stepped out into a large room with a hatch. They walked over to a wall filled with jump suits and quickly started to get changed. As Kirk pulled on his suit he kept stealing glances at Khan. He couldn't risk letting the terrorist out of his sight. Lord knows what he would try the second Kirk turned his back on him.

"Scotty how's the hatch coming?" He asked into his communicator.

"Still running sir." His voice said coming through. The doors opened and Khan looked to see Aria walking in.

"Nice uniform." Kirk said.

"Not a uniform, the federation is still very sexist when it comes to clothing." She said walking over in a outfit similar to the one she wore on Kronos. She pulled on her jump suit quicker than they had instantly telling Khan she had space jumped on more than one occasion.

"Open the hatch." Kirk said and two men moved forward. "Let us go down first and we'll help you down." He said to Aria who looked at him for a long moment before jumping straight down and landing easily. She looked up at Kirk with a smile.

"Shall I help you down Captain?" she asked and he smiled before climbing down along with Khan.

"Cheeky Aria." Kirk said.

"Only way I know how sir." She said. "Scotty are you to the hatch yet?" she asked into her helmet which had been patched through.

"Aye lass." He said. "But there's a problem. It's small wee it would be like jumping from a collapsing bridge onto the head of a pin."

"So easy?" She asked with a sarcastic smile.

"We'll be fine just get it open." Kirk said. "I've done something like this before." Khan looked him over and Kirk could tell the man didn't believe him.

"Top hatch closed sir." Aria said looking up to see it was down.

"Scotty we're about to jump and that hatch better be open…" Kirk said.

"Aye sir." His voice came. Aria and Khan knelt staring at the hatch before them. Kirk looked to both of them for a long moment.

_They move too well with each other… maybe they are working with one another… Maybe Aria is that good of an actress. _Aria looked up at him as he looked her over.

"Sir you'll want to kneel." She said. He only nodded and knelt at her side. She took a deep breath and looked to Khan to see he was looking at her. They stared at each other for a long moment before he sent a nod her way and stared forward. Aria didn't know how she should have taken his expression in that moment. It had almost been the look of concern but other than them being the same kind she didn't understand why he would be concerned for her wellbeing, and feel the need to show it. "Masks are calibrated to destination Captain, ready when you are." She said seeing the graph come up.

"Spock…" Kirk said. "Pull the trigger."

"Aye captain." His voice came and the hatch before them suddenly opened. Aria took a breath as they were shot from the compartment. Her eyes widened at the debris field ahead of them.

"We're going to need guides when it comes to the field." She said. "Sir when dodging the items try not to get thrown too far off course."

"I know Aria." Khans jaw clenched hearing Kirks voice. All Aria was trying to do was be a loyal crew member to her Captain and Kirk in turn was spitting on that loyalty every chance he got. He took advantage of Aria's intelligence and expertise with no sign of thanking her for it. In fact Kirk seemed annoyed by it.

"Debris ahead captain." Aria said.

"I see it." He dodged it but just like she had warn ended up far off course.

"Captain you need to redirect." Spocks voice said.

"Commander Aria debris ahead, large debris I recommend diving under it not over." Spock said.

"Right." Khan watched as she dove under it elegantly before returning right back to place.

"Scotty we're nearing the hatch." She said. "Any chances of getting it open? You're making me nervous."

"Working on it Lass."

"Shit."

"Captain what is it?" She inquired hearing his voice.

"My helmet was hit."

"It'll hold we're almost there." She said. "You're still off course sir."

"I'm aware Aria thank you."

"Khan debris ahead." Spock said.

"Re directing." Aria watched as he wound in and out of the debris easily.

"Aria debris ahead quickly!" Spock ordered. Aria looked just in time to see a large piece of steel the size of a shuttle float in front of her. She tried to avoid it but cried out in pain as she slammed into it.

"We've lost Aria!" Khan looked as Spocks voice flooded into his ear piece. He searched for Aria to see her twirling through space completely out of control.

"Aria?" He asked. "Aria?!"

"She's offline Khan." Spock said. His jaw clenched as she disappeared from sight behind some debris. "Sir we've lost Aria."

"I heard." Kirk said and Khans jaw clenched further.

_She only has done everything in her power to keep his ship and crew safe and he doesn't even bat an eye when she's taken out in the line of duty!?_

"Sir you really need to get back on course." Khan eyes snapped hearing the familiar voice.

"Aria is that you?" Kirk asked.

"Aye sir." She flew into view right between them and Khan smiled seeing her.

"There's a problem I can't get back on track."

"Why not?" She asked.

"My helmet is too far gone I have no compass."

"Sir without a compass you cannot direct yourself into the hatch." Spock said.

"Captain fall in behind me you can follow Khan and I in." Aria said.

"A suitable plan captain." Spock said.

"Fine." Kirk stated and Aria could tell he wasn't pleased, why she wasn't sure. "Scotty get that hatch open we're nearing it!" They waited.

"Why isn't Scotty responding?" Aria asked.

"His communicator is working but he's not responding I'm not sure why." Uhura said.

"Scotty if you don't open that hatch we're all dead!" Aria yelled. "Open the hatch."

"Come on man open the hatch!" Kirk yelled.

"Commander Scott if you can hear me when I reach one you are to open that hatch." Spock said. "Ten… Nine… Eight…"

"Jesus open the hatch Scotty!" Aria said.

"Seven… Six…"

"Scotty!" Kirk yelled.

"Five… Four… Three…"

"Scotty!" Aria and Kirk yelled as they were all coming up on the closed hatch at an alarming speed.

"Two… One…" The doors opened and Aria yelled out in pain as her shoulder slammed into the prongs of the hatch door. Her eyes shut tightly as gravity was reinstated and she was propelled down to the floor at an alarming rate. Her body flipped across the ground like a limp discarded rag doll. When she finally came to a stop she hissed in pain and looked down at her shoulder where her suit had been ripped open and blood was beginning to stain.

"That didn't feel good…" She muttered.

"Lass!" Scotty said coming to her side his eyes wide as he looked over the blood.

"I'm fine." She said sitting up.

"That's a hell of a lot of blood." Kirk said as she took off her helmet.

"I'm okay sir." He rushed to her side and picked up her arm looking over the wound. Scotty's eyes widened as he watched the wound heal right before his eyes.

"What in the name of King George…" He muttered.

"See…" Kirk looked to her. "I'm fine." She said her jaw clenching as she looked over his scrutinizing gaze.

"Let's get going then, they'll know we're here." Khan said already getting out of his suit.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Khan this is Scotty, Scotty this is Khan." Aria said as she slipped out of her suit and looked to see how the shoulder part of her black sleeve which stuck out from under her black corseted leather vest had been split thanks to the prongs of the hatch door. "I loved this shirt…" She muttered as she looked over her weapons concealed in her vest.

"If we live I'll buy you ten of those shirts." Kirk said and she smiled.

"Holding you to that sir."

"I know the best way to the bridge we should hurry they will have known about that hatch opening." Khan said ignoring the friendly banter between Kirk and Aria.

"He's all business ay?" Scotty asked Kirk as Aria put together weapons.

"Lock Khans to stun." Kirk ordered and she slowly looked to him.

"Captain?" She asked.

"I said lock it to stun Commander Aria."

"Sir their phasers won't be set to stun…" She said and Khan looked to see she had a worried expression.

"Then I guess he better not be hit…" Kirk said and Aria slowly nodded before handing a weapon over to him.

"Lead the way." Aria said to Khan who nodded before turning and running off. As they moved through the ship Aria couldn't help but marvel at the numerous battle stations. Khan hadn't been lying when he said that the ship was made purely for battle. She had to say she was impressed with his design. She moved forward suddenly and grabbed ahold of Kirk and Scotty's shoulders slamming them down to the ground as lasers shot right over them.

"Bloody hell!" Scotty yelled as he watched Aria move forward and leap a good twentyfeet into the air up onto a second level where she engaged two men in battle. "What the hell is going on Sir?" He asked Kirk. Kirk watched as Aria snapped both men's neck. A third came out of nowhere and knocked her over the railing. "Aria!" Scotty yelled. She flipped in the air and landed easily on her feet with her phaser pulled. Before she could pull the trigger the man went down. She looked over her shoulder to see Khans gun pointed at where the men had been standing. She slowly stood as he nodded at her and walked past. Aria quickly followed and Kirks jaw clenched.

"When I say you put both him and Aria down…" Kirk muttered to Scotty as they walked.

"Aria as well? She just saved our skins sir. Besides I've known her since she was a wee little girl-."

"I'm very sure she's working with Khan… It's for the greater good Scotty." He said and Scotty slowly nodded.

"Hopefully she'll forgive me." He muttered as they continued to walk. Two men jumped out in front of them and Scotty yelled out as he was thrown against a wall. Aria rushed forward in front of Khan and caught the hand of a man who was trying to hit him before twisting the arm and breaking it in half. Khan watched as she grabbed hold of the back of his head and slammed it into the wall cracking open his skull before shooting another man who rushed at her from the left.

Khan spun and landed a back fist across the face of an approaching crew member before kicking up the wall and slamming his fist down across the face of another. Aria watched as Khan spun and landed a perfect side kick into the chest of another one sending the man a good ten feet up into the air. Her eyes then rested on Kirk and Scotty who were barely holding their own against two men. She went to help but gasped as a hand was clutched over her mouth and she was pulled down a dark corridor.

"Shh…" Khan said as he pushed her up against a wall his hand still over her mouth as his body pressed against hers in the tiny space. She glared into him heavily as she started to fight against him. "I'm not going to hurt you…" She slowly stopped resisting him as she quirked an eyebrow. "Just stay quiet Aria." She slowly nodded seeing his soft expression.

"What's going on?" She asked softly as he removed his hand.

"Kirk has deserted you." She scowled.

"Seriously that's what you pulled me into this dark corridor to say? Or more repeat."

"He has Aria."

"Technically I've deserted him thanks to you dragging me down here."

"Khan Aria!" She heard Kirk call. Before she could call back out to Khan he moved his hand over her mouth and pulled her deeper into the dark corridor. She pulled at his hand but he just held her tighter and she sighed heavily when she heard Kirk and Scotty rush past. He let go of her and she pushed him away instantly.

"What the hell are you doing?" She asked.

"Kirk has deserted you-."

"So you've said."

"No he has, he doesn't trust you anymore."

"Again I say so you have said…" She stated.

"He thinks you're working with me."

"Can you blame him? If I were him I'd think so too." She whispered.

"He's going to turn on you Aria."

"No…" She said shaking her head. "No he wouldn't do that, besides with Scotty around he wouldn't let the Captain…"

"Aria-."

"Scotty is a good friend of mine, almost like family." She said shaking her head quickly as Khan gripped onto her shoulders. "He wouldn't let the Captain-."

"Aria use that brilliant mind of yours to see the outcome of this situation… Kirk will turn on you." Her jaw clenched as she looked him over. "Don't ignore your instincts… He will turn on you so will Commander Scott."

"No…" She said. "No I've proven myself." His expression softened as he looked her over.

"Yes you have but he's not going to take that into account-."

"Why do you care so much anyways?" She asked and his jaw clenched as she looked him over.

"Because I hate that one of my own kind is being used and about to be taken as a fool." He said with a livid look.

"I can take care of myself." She went to walk away and he pulled her back.

"You don't have to anymore…" She looked at him for a long moment.

"I'm sorry that I can't trust you…" She said and his expression softened. "I know that must be hard for you seeing as you were the once would be king of our kind… But I wasn't around back then-."

"This isn't about your trust it's about your safety-."

"What do you want me to do?" She asked. "If he turns on me he turns on me it's not like I can just kill him which I wouldn't by the way." He shook his head and looked off.

"It's an obvious choice…" He said.

"Maybe to you but not to me." He looked to her. "Come on… We have to get back…" With that she turned and ran off. Khan sighed heavily as he bowed his head.

"God damn it." He said before punching a hole in the wall and rushing off after her only to see she was already out of sight.

"You really think she's working with her sir?" Scotty asked as he and Kirk searched the ship for Khan and Aria. Little did they know she was around a pillar listening to everything they said.

"They're off together aren't they?"

"He could have kidnapped her sir, it is equal playing ground when it comes to him, she wouldn't be able to easily overcome him like others… Bloody hell I can't still believe she's some genetically altered human… I remember when the wee girl had pigtails…"

"She's dangerous Scotty."

"Ahk she's always been dangerous." Scotty said. "But she's also always been very very sweet…" Kirk looked to him while Aria smiled softly.

"Sir there you are." Aria said coming out from behind the pillar.

_There's no way Scotty would let him turn on me… _

"Where were you?" Kirk asked.

"Taking out other people…" She said, hating to lie to her Captain.

"Where's Khan?"

"Right here." Aria turned to see him. "Come on we need to move." Kirk rushed past her and Aria looked to Scotty with a smile.

"Stay by my side I'll keep you safe Scotty." She said clapping him on the shoulder before turning and rushing after them. Scotty quickly followed her feeling quite guilty as he did. She had no idea what he was going to be forced to do in just mere minutes. Thy crowded into the Turbo lift and all checked over their weapons. Aria suddenly stopped as her eyes closed.

"What is it Aria?" Kirk asked.

"Heart beats…" She said softly as she listened intently. "One… Two… Three… Four… Four sets."

"What?" Kirk asked.

"Four men are stationed outside the bridge sir…"

"How do you know that?" Scotty asked.

"She can hear them…" Khan said like it was obvious.

"You take them out quickly Aria." Kirk said. "As soon as the doors open I want them dead."

"Aye sir…" She said before moving forward as the men pushed themselves back against the turbo lift walls out of the way of danger in case the men got a shot off at her. The lifts doors opened and Aria walked out. "This isn't the ladies room…" She said making the men look up. Before they could do anything a knife slammed into each of their throats making them collapse to the ground dead.

"Well done." Kirk said with a smile.

"Thank you sir." She said with a smile.

_There's no way he's going to turn on me, he's just warming up to what my abilities can do for him._

"On three…" Kirk said.

"Scotty stay right behind me." Aria said and he slowly nodded.

"Right Lass." He said and there was something in his tone that made Khan look him over.

"One… Two…" Kirk checked over his phaser. "Three." They rushed in and Khan took out six men while Aria took out five with throwing knives and Kirk and Scotty took out the rest.

"Carol." Aria said seeing the young woman with a wide eyed look. "Are you alright?" she asked.

"Fine thank you." She answered with a soft expression.

"Admiral." Kirk said nodding at the man sitting in the captain's chair who was the only man with in the room now not dead.

"Kirk." He answered.

"Scotty now." Kirk ordered. Khan watched as Scotty turned his phaser on Aria who turned and stared at him wide eyed.

"Scotty?" She asked softly.

"Sorry lass."

"No!" Khan rushed forward as he watched the Scotsman pull the trigger causing Aria to slam down onto the ground. Before he could go after Scotty he too was shot down to the ground landing right before Aria.

"Keep the phasers on them and if Khan moves or if Aria does you shoot to kill, it won't stop them but it will slow them down more than a stun…" Kirk said.

"Looks like you've learned…" The Admiral said. "Though I have to wonder why are you treating your battle expert like Khan?"

Aria didn't open her eyes. She was far too livid to. She couldn't believe Scotty had turned on her. Scotty of all people. Scotty who had once braided her hair for her when Bradshaw was working late. Scotty who used to let her paint his nails for practice. Her eyes slowly opened and she looked across the way to Khan who was looking back at her. He had been right all along, Kirk had turned on her, Scotty had turned on her. She now knew that there was no way she was going to come out of this looking okay. There was no way she would ever be trusted again. Still there was an inner turmoil raging within her. Khan leapt up onto his feet grabbed the phaser out of Scotty's hand and backed fisted him to the ground.

"Scotty!" Aria got up and rushed to his side before watching Khan grab Kirk and start beating the hell out of him as Carol screamed. She watched as blood spit from Kirks mouth as Khans fist slammed down across his face.

"Khan stop!" Aria yelled. "Khan!" She watched as the Admiral pulled a forced Plasma Phaser. She rushed across the room and slapped it out of his hand before he could shoot Khan with it.

"Enough you've done enough!" She yelled. Admiral Marcus back handed her across the face and Aria screamed as he grabbed one of her knives from her thigh holster and slashed it across her back. Khan turned quickly to see Marcus going to stab Aria as she fell to her knees. He shot the knife out of his hand before rushing forward as Aria fell forward in obvious pain as her back struggled to heal.

"Please." The woman named Carol moved in front of him. "Don't kill him." He slapped her down into the ground and kicked her in the stomach as she screamed in agony as multiple ribs broke within her chest cavity.

"You son of a bitch!" The Admiral yelled as Khan approached him. "How dare you hit my daughter?!" Khan slammed him down onto the ground. Aria slowly got to her feet and rushed over to the Captain who was coughing up blood.

"Sir…" She said slowly rolling him onto his back. "Oh god…" She said seeing his eyebrow split open. "What should I do?" She asked softly as she quickly looked to Khan who was in the process of beating the hell out of the Admiral as his daughter looked on in sheer horror.

"Kill him…" She stared at him for a long moment.

"I… I don't know how…" Kirk looked her over to see her distressed look. "I'm so sorry Captain… I've failed the Enterprise…"

"I failed it… You… You did your best." He said blood seeping from his mouth.

"You, you should have let me sleep!" Khan yelled and they both looked up at time to see the Admirals head burst like a watermelon under the pressure Khans hands put upon it as Carol let out a horrified sob. Khan quickly approached the Captain and Instantly Aria stood putting her hands up.

"Khan stop." She said putting her hands on his chest in an attempt to stop him. "Khan please!" He pushed her aside gently before grabbing a hold of the Captain and lifting him onto his feet. "Khan please it's enough!"

"Hail the Enterprise Aria." Khan said.

"Put my Captain down Khan." His eyes slowly moved to hers.

"Hail the enterprise."

"Then put him down!"

"Do what he says Aria…" Kirk said.

"Sir…"

"It's an order Commander Aria…" She slowly nodded and she rushed over to the helm and brought up the picture. She watched in horror as Khan brought Kirk up by the nape of his neck.

"Be gentle with him you don't want to snap his neck!" Aria said.

"Oh I want nothing more…" Khan muttered.

"You turned on us." Spock said his eyes livid as he came into view.

"What an accurate deduction you've made Spock…" Khan said. "Now you have 72 of my people on your ship, give them to me."

"Or?" Spock asked.

"Or I kill your captain, chief engineer, and the admirals daughter. Trust me I've already killed her father I don't see why I should stop with him and not move onto her…" Carol made a horrified noise and Aria shook her head at her.

"I won't let it happen." Aria said softly and Carol slowly nodded.

"Give us the captain first." Spock said.

"You must think me an idiot." Khan stated. "Give me the Torpedoes."

"Give us the captain."

"Commander Spock." Aria said rushing forward. "You must do as he says, if you don't he'll kill the Captain just to prove his resolve."

"Listen to your battle expert Spock." Khan said.

"Give him the torpedoes…" Aria said. "You don't want to play let's-make-a-deal with him."

"Don't do it Spock." Kirk said and Khan slammed the phaser across the back of his neck.

"Khan stop it!" Aria yelled.

"My captain says no." Spock said with a smirk. "It seems we are at a deadlock…"

"No no no Spock… I have many options one of them being that if you were to not hand over my crew I would in turn kill your Captain, your engineer, and the Admirals daughter out of pure enjoyable spite."

"What will you do when you have your crew back?" Spock inquired with a steel gaze.

"Continue the work we were doing before."

"Which as I now understand it was the mass genocide of any being you find lesser then yourself…"

"Then shall I destroy you and your whole crew right now Mr. Spock or will you give me what I want?" Khan asked with an intense look as he held the kill set phaser to the back of Kirks head.

"I have no way of knowing that once I hand over your crew that you won't just destroy this vessel and my fellow crew members."

"Let me spell it out for you seeing as your keen Vulcan intellect can't seem to figure it out… If you do not hand over my crew I will kill your Captain to demonstrate my resolve then I will have no choice but to kill you and your entire crew…"

"You forget your crew is on board as well."

"My crew does not require oxygen to live… I will target the area behind the iconcell which controls your life support systems when you and the men and women aboard your ship can no longer take air I will step over your cold still corpses to retrieve my people… Now… Shall we begin?" He slammed Kirk down on the ground and kicked him.

"Stop it!" Aria yelled and Kirk looked her over to see her true horrified expression.

"I could just shoot him but I'd rather see him bleed! That's the first step killing your Captain and then I go after the others aboard and then your life support!" Khan kicked Kirk again and he yelled out in pain as blood was propelled from his mouth.

"Khan!" Aria yelled. "Khan stop it please!" His eyes closed for a moment, he hated hearing her scream like that. He hated scaring her.

"Make your choice Spock!" Khan bellowed as he went to stop down on Kirks chest.

"Spock do it!" Aria and Carol screamed as Scotty slowly stirred.

"Fine…" Spock said and Khan slowly looked up at the screen.

"Drop your shields." Khan ordered.

"They have dropped…"

"Good choice Mr. Spock…" He stomped down on Kirks chest and walked over to the panel as Aria rushed to Scotty's side as he rolled onto his back blood pouring down the left side of his face.

"Lass?" he asked.

"Scotty are you alright?" She asked wiping blood away from his hair line.

"Fine lass…" He said. "I'm sorry Lass."

"No it's fine…" She went to move towards the Captain but he put his hand out stopping her. Fearing that if she went to his aid she would be the next to get hurt by Khan. Even if it was just for a second he didn't want to see her in pain.

"Our beaming capabilities are down…" Spock said.

"Mine are working fine…" Khan said. "I see all 72 torpedoes are still in their rocket bays, if they are not mine I will know… If you are lying to me I tell you now I will make you pay severely…"

"Vulcans do not lie Khan." He said as the Torpedoes were pulled from the ship. "Now for your end of the agreement."

"Do what you want to me just hold up your end of the Deal for the others and for my ship." Kirk said as he coughed up blood.

"Don't worry Captain I'm not going to do anything to you right yet…" Khan said and Aria looked to him. "After all, no ship should go down without her Captain." Arias eyes widened as beaming energy wrapped around everyone but herself.

"Captain?" She asked and he looked to her wide eyed.

"Khan, what about Aria!?" He bellowed.

"She stays with me." Khan said and Aria looked to him with a horrified expression.

"No…" She said. "No! Khan send me with them!"

"Lass?" Scotty asked wide eyed as he slowly disappeared.

"Scotty!" A tear fell down her cheek as he disappeared from sight. "Captain!" Aria called looking back to him in pure fear.

"I'm sorry…" He said as he disappeared.

"Captain!"


	4. Run As If You Stand A Chance

"I'm sorry." Kirk said as he disappeared.

"Captain!" Aria stared at the space in which he had been sitting in pure shock for a long moment before leaping to her feet and running at Khan.

"Aria…" He said in a warning tone as she approached him.

"You said you would let them live!" She yelled pushing him back.

"They don't deserve to…"

"Let me off this fucking ship!" She pushed him again.

"I'm not putting you on the Enterprise when it's meant to go down."

"There are people I care about on that ship!"

"There are people you care about on this ship." She slowly looked to see the 72 torpedoes which rested in the weapons bay. "You think they'll ever let us be if we don't send a message like taking down the prized starship of the fleet?" He asked. "No they won't, this is the only choice we have and you know it!"

"Beam me on that ship-."

"You don't belong with them…" He said with a serious expression. "You belong here with me."

"I have my own free will!"

"Your free will is going to get you killed! You are staying aboard the Dreadnaught Vengeance!"

"God damn you!" She pushed him again. "I want off!"

"What so great about them huh?" He asked gripping onto her forearms to keep her from hitting him. "What makes you want to be so loyal to them and not to me, your own kind!?"

"They aren't murdering psychopaths!"

"Not murdering psychopaths!?" He asked. "Admiral Marcus knowingly set torpedoes filled with our people onto a ship that was going to fire them onto an unsuspecting planet. In extension killing them Aria. Murdering them!"

"That's Admiral Marcus not the Enterprise you promised you'd let them live!"

"I never promised you anything, but you on the other hand promised to help me in my vengeance against the Admiral."

"Which I've done he lies dead not ten feet away. Let me off this fucking ship!"

"You don't want to help me fine but what about your people!?" He watched as her expression instantly softened. "72 innocent men and woman lay slumbering in those torpedoes, if we don't shoot down the Enterprise and escape they will be executed Aria… They won't take the chance of keeping them in a slumbering state just to wake someday…" She looked to the screen where she could see the 72 torpedoes. "Your people need you Aria…" Her jaw clenched and Khan instantly knew he had won at least this fight. Khan waved his hand over the panel instantly blasting all the phasers at the Enterprise. Arias eyes closed as she watched the Ship start to get torn to pieces. Her eyes shot open when she heard a beeping noise.

"No…" Aria said looking to the cargo bay.

"What is it?" Khan asked.

"No no no!" She screamed as she watched the Torpedoes begin to explode making the ship lurch forward and send her and Khan sprawling to the ground.

Khan pulled himself onto his feet and bellowed in rage as he watched the men and women he had sworn to protect explode into nothing. Aria stared in horror as her eyes welled up. Her Captain had just murdered 72 men and women, and had most likely just murdered her. There was no way the ship would survive such an explosion. Her jaw clenched as her rage built more than it ever had. It seemed Captain James T. Kirk was just like the once conniving Admiral Marcus. Everything Khan had said had turned out to be true, and her rage was nothing like she had ever felt. She leapt onto her feet and Khan watched as she quickly hit a sequence of buttons.

"Dreadnaught Vengeance direct all phasers to section 3259 of the USS Enterprise hull!" She ordered making Khan look to her. "75 percent power punch it!" She yelled. He watched as lasers shot to one specific spot. The lights of the USS Enterprise instantly went out and slowly began to fall. She turned and ran to another panel.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"Trying to put out as much of the fires as we can so we can fly far from here." She said. "We have to flee." He quickly walked to her and pulled her hands away from the panel.

"We cannot flee." Khan said stopping her orders.

"Khan-."

"I will not flee again… We end this now… We make sure they never come after us again."

"They will never stop Khan the only thing we can do is run." She said with a soft expression. "Khan-."

"I will not run!" He bellowed and she jumped. "Not again…" He muttered as he turned back to the panel.

"Wait a minute I know what you're thinking…" She said seeing the buttons he was hitting. "You want to crash this ship, Khan we won't survive that." He turned to her quickly.

"You have no idea what you're capable of do you?" He asked as he looked her over.

"Khan…" She said. "This is going too far."

"When the Captain said he was sorry to you why do you think that was?" He asked.

"What?" she asked.

"When the Captain said he was sorry before he was beamed back upon his own ship why do you think he looked you right in the eyes and said sorry?"

"Because he knew he wouldn't be able to get me off this ship…" He looked her over before shaking his head.

"You still don't see." He said and she looked off as her jaw clenched. Another explosion sounded and Aria fell into Khan as the ship gave a sudden lurch.

"We're going down!" She called.

"Then we mine as well put it somewhere useful." He said as half the panel burst into flames.

"What you're talking about it's going to kill thousands of people!"

"Eye for an eye!"

"You've killed enough Khan."

"It'll never be enough!"

"Khan stop this." He gripped onto her throat and slammed her up against the wall. Aria felt the air cut off and instantly gripped onto his wrist and he got right in her face his eyes narrowed and filled with rage. "K-k-k-khan…" She choked. "D-don't do t-t-this…" She clawed at her wrist. "Enough… It's enough K-k-killing."

"Stay out of my way." He threw her to the ground and Aria coughed up blood as her wind pipe slowly began to heal itself from being crushed. Khan turned away from the sight as his jaw clenched tightly.

"I thought we don't hurt our own kind." She said softly as she looked over the blood.

"When they get in the way of our advancement we do…" He muttered. Aria slowly got onto her feet and sat down putting the buckles on as Khan made plans for complete devastation. "Set course for Star Fleet Headquarters!" Arias head bowed.

She didn't know what to do. She couldn't outright attack Khan. He would beat her every time, as hard as it was to admit. Still thousands of people could die if she didn't do something. Even though she wanted to keep the ship from killing so many her mind couldn't help but go to the 72 people the federation had just killed within the cargo hold of the Dreadnaught Vengeance. Her heart ached for those lost souls. Her rage built at not only their murder but the attempted murder of herself. Her Captain had ordered the attack knowing that it would probably kill her as well. They began their descent quick and Aria bowed her head not knowing what to do. Her mind flowed back to a time much simpler.

"_Aria… What are you doing up?" She slowly looked over her shoulder to see Bradshaw. _

"_Studying." _

"_You're going to do fine, but not if you get to bed soon… You have to get some rest for the test tomorrow…" _

"_You know I don't have to sleep." _

"_We both know you sleep once every week and you haven't slept in two…" He walked over to her and sat down. "What's keeping you up?" _

"_It'll be thirteen years next week…" She said quietly and he bowed his head. _

"_I know…" _

"_I find myself with so many more questions than in the beginning… Like… What the hell am I." _

"_Language you're a lady…" She smiled softly. "I'm working on it… I really am." _

"_I know and I'm so grateful… For everything you've done…" _

"_Still?" he asked. _

"_Still…" _

"_You must feel… Very alone." _

"_Never with you…" She said. "But I sometimes wonder how I would feel if I ever found someone like me." _

"_Let me give you some advice, if you ever find someone like you love, you stick to them." He said and she looked to him. "Especially if it's a bloke." _

"_Bradshaw." She said with a small laugh and a girlish blush. "I sometimes think it would be best to not know what I am." _

"_Who Aria… Not what." He said and she smiled softly. _

"_I've been doing some research of species like mine and I came across a reference." She looked to Bradshaw who looked off. _

"_The Eugenics war…" He said. _

"_I am a lot like them you know except for the homicidal tendencies." _

"_They were just doing what they thought was best even if what they thought was best caused a lot of devastation." She looked to him. _

"_Do you think it's possible?" _

"_It was over three hundred years ago but then again we know your species is pretty hearty…" He said with a kind expression. _

"_I hate not knowing what-." _

"_Who." _

"_Who I am…" She said. _

"_I know love, we'll figure it out someday… Then again who knows… Maybe you'll find a bloke just like you." _

"_I'd rather find a bloke like you pops." She said and he smiled. _

"_Well I'm one in a million darling." She laughed softly and he looked her over. _

"_I wish my parents were around to tell me who I was why I am the way I am why I feel the way I feel." _

"_How do you feel?" He asked. _

"_It's hard to explain…" _

"_Well I hope someday you learn how to… Because if I can help I would love to…" _

Aria slowly looked to see they were racing towards the ground. Her eyes went to Khan. He was livid. And she didn't blame him because she felt the exact same way. The federation had tried to kill them, and had succeeded in killing their people. Aria now understood Khan. Or at least understood why he did what he did. Why he was doing what he was doing. She slowly unbuckled her seat belt and walked to his side.

"Once we land and if we survive…" He looked to her surprised she was talking to him after he had crushed her windpipe. "We'll need to run get far away from the crash sight… I have a place, a hideout Bradshaw set up for me, in case anyone ever found out what-who I was…"

"You're helping?" He asked looking her over.

"Bradshaw once said if I found anyone like me, I should stick by their side, so that's what I'm going to do… His advice never failed me before." He looked to her to see she was staring forward her jaw clenching her eyes fueled with rage. "We'll only be able to hide there for a few weeks… But that's a few weeks to plan our next step… I'm sorry that I tried to stop you…" he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "I'm sorry it took me this long to see the evil hearts of the men I worked for… I'm sorry I did not trust you and that I took a stance of an enemy towards you rather than an ally which you and our people needed most of all… But I make this promise now… I will make it up to you and to our people… That is… If you'll still have me…"

"Yes." He said instantly and without hesitation.

"Brace for impact…" A voice said coming over the ship. Aria gripped onto the panel readying herself for the collision.

"Here we go…" She said before looking to Khan. He stared at her for a long moment to see her eyes flashing with vengeance. He slowly looked down at her hand that rested right next to his on the panel. Aria took a deep breath as she felt something touch her hand. She slowly looked down and stared at Khans hand that had rested over hers. She took a moment before her eyes travelled up to meet his.

"Thank you Aria Adne…" he said and she smiled softly as she looked him over. Before she could say anything the ship slammed into the ground.

"Khan!" He felt himself get thrown in the opposite way of the impact before hearing a scream of agony. He held on tight as the ship rocked back and forth violently and gave sounds of pure destruction. After what could have only been a minute but felt like forever movement ceased and the ship slowly settled.

Khan slowly looked around the wreckage to see what he stood in no longer resembled that of a Dreadnaught class ship. It more resembled the sight of a junkyard. Sharp metal pieces stuck out everywhere, shattered glass riddled the floor. Still he was not where he had expected to be, he expected to be at the forefront of the ship where it had slammed into the ground but he instead was at the back behind a control panel far from harms way. Aria had thrown him from the path of destruction.

"Aria?" he called realizing what she had done. "Aria!?" Silence followed his calls and he slowly looked around the ship fearing the worst. "Aria!" He saw a pile of rubble shift and quickly ran to the sight. Leaping over piles of scrap metal as he did. "Aria…" He began lifting heavy pieces of the bridge away until he got to Aria whose jaw was clenched tightly.

"Kahn…" She said as blood trickled out the side of her mouth. His eyes travelled down to her abdomen to see a sharp piece of metal a good 3 feet in length a half foot in width sticking through her side. "I now know why he said sorry." He slowly looked to her as he cupped her cheek. "The Captain said sorry because he knew I was going to die on this ship…"

"You're not going to die on this ship." He said as his arms moved under her.

"What are you doing?" he pulled at her and she instantly cried out as she shook in his arms. "Stop!" His eyes closed tightly knowing what he was about to do would cause her much discomfort. She let out a sound of pure agony as he pulled and she slid off the sharp piece of metal.

"You're fine give it a moment…" He said waiting patiently for her body to heal. Aria looked around her hands shaking, her jaw clenching from the pain.

"It's taking too long… You have to run." She said and he looked down at her.

"I can't leave you here, you have no idea what they'll do to you once they catch you…"

"I don't care." She pushed him away and he stumbled back. "Run, they can't get us both." She said as she slowly sat up against a broken panel. Her hand pressed to her abdomen and winced as blood flowed through her fingers. "Khan run!" She ordered and he slowly stood. "Go…" He slowly nodded. "Khan?" She asked before he went to run off. "For the short amount of time…" Her voice broke. "It was an honor to stand at your side… Captain…"

"The honor was mine…" He said softly before turning and leaping off the bridge. Arias jaw clenched as her hand stuck to her bleeding side which was slowly beginning to repair its self. Her eyes closed tightly as her head bowed forward. Once again she was on her own, and everything she had done, was now for nothing. She smiled softly. "Well… Not for nothing…" She said remembering that Khan had managed to get away. She heard a noise and looked up to see Khan running back to her. "What are you doing?" She asked with a distressed look.

"I left my crew before I'm not doing it again…"

"Khan-."

"I'm not leaving without you Aria end of discussion…" He said wrapping an arm around her waist and lifting her up onto her feet as she made a sound of pain. She wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "You'll heal as you move." He said as another loud explosion sounded and the rubble that was the ship began to shift. As the ceiling caved in Khan pulled Aria into his arms and jumped behind a pillar. She bowed her head into his chest as metal fell around them. Khan set his hand on the back of her head as her arms moved around him. When the ship settled Aria slowly looked around before looking down at her stomach which was still bleeding.

"Come we have to get off this ship I engaged the self-destruct." He said wrapping his arm around her waist. They rushed towards the large hole of the ship and leapt off. They slammed into the ships side and slid down it before hitting the ground where both rolled over their shoulders. Instead of coming up onto her feet like Khan, Aria slammed into the ground her hand covered in blood as it braced against her abdomen. "Keep going…" He lifted her to her feet once more and they began to run through the rubble.

As they moved Arias eyes went to the thousands of bodies that surrounded them. Some dead. Some screaming. Some staring aimlessly at the wreckage. She pulled her eyes away as her heart began to ache. She was to blame for their loss, but she had been pushed, and this was the result of the pressure. Still, she knew she would feel the guilt of their loss for the rest of her life. It would be a burden she would forever have to bare. Her eyes went down to her stomach where more blood was flowing.

"Khan I'm not healing…" She said as they rushed past a group of people.

"Our bodies regenerate at half the rate when in movement…" He said.

"I'm losing a lot of blood." She said softly as she looked down at her hand which was smeared in the crimson fluid.

"I know…" he said his jaw clenching. "We'll get somewhere safe and in a day you'll be right as rain…"

"Promise?" She asked her hands starting to shake from the lack of blood.

"I promise…" There were two things that could put his kind in jeopardy, and one of them was blood loss. They didn't reproduce blood as quickly as they healed. He looked to Aria to see the blood staining her clothes was dripping to the ground below as they moved. He had to get her to a quiet place or there would be a chance she wouldn't make it.

"Here put this on you're too recognizable…" She said grabbing a coat off a chair and tossing it to him. He pulled it on as they continued to run. As they passed a group of people Aria couldn't help but notice a man beaming into the random area. "Khan we have company." He looked over his shoulder to see Spock staring at him with a livid look. Khan began to run faster than he ever had, and Aria had to admit how hard it was to keep up with her injury.

Every time her body twisted from the movement of running it tore open her wound which was already struggling to heal. Her mind was suddenly torn away when she felt something wrap around her hand. She slowly looked down to see Khan had taken her hand in his as he ran. She didn't have much time to relish in it as they jumped through a glass door and rushed out onto a shuttle deck.

"Jump!" He ordered as they neared the edge. They leapt out onto the shuttle. Aria slammed into the side of the shuttle her bloody hands instantly losing hold of her grip causing her to go over the edge. Before she could so much as scream Khan reached over and latched onto her wrist catching her from falling to her death. "I got you! Climb Aria!" She smiled softly at him as she slowly began to pull herself up. Aria jumped as Spock landed onto the shuttle next to Khan and tackled him away from her. "No!" Khan yelled as he watched Aria disappear off the side of the shuttle. He turned to Spock with wide eyes. "I'm done with the genocide of my kind!" He latched onto his shirt and threw him up against the shuttle claw. His eyes then went to the side where he saw a bloody hand reach up. Aria pulled herself and to Khans surprise he felt an immense amount of relief.

"Watch out!" She yelled and he couldn't hear her thanks to the rushing air around them. He turned just in time to catch a harsh punch down onto the side of his face nearly knocking him to the ground. He yelled out in agony as Spock clutched onto his shoulder putting him in a standard Vulcan battle technique. He latched onto the Vulcans wrist and stood as he twisted the arm and went to break it only to have Spock slam his fists against his face. Khan kicked him across the face and smiled as he watched Spock slam to the ground. He grabbed a hold of Arias hand and wrapped an arm around her waist before running and jumping onto another shuttle. This time she made it clear and safe thanks to the added support of Khan.

"This isn't the way to my bunker." She said.

"We need to get inside one of the shuttles." He said.

"Leave that to me." Before Aria could go to the shuttle hatch they heard a loud thud. They turned to see Spock jumping on only to slip. Khan tilted his head as he watched Aria rush forward and catch him before he could fall. "Climb up!" She yelled. "Climb up Spock!" He slowly did as she said and Aria looked him over. "Are you alright?" He punched her across the face knocking her back onto the shuttle before slamming his hand down onto her bleeding stomach. Khans eyes widened as he watched blood fly up into the air as Aria cried out in pain. Without knowing what he was doing he picked Spock up off of Aria and slammed him onto the ground where he began to beat him over and over again.

Aria slowly sat up wincing in pain as she did. She couldn't believe she had made the mistake of trying to help the federation out again. Once more she had been proven wrong. There was no hope for peaceful living between herself and the others. Not now that they knew she was genetically altered. She slowly looked over to see Khans fist covered in green blood.

"Spock!" She heard someone scream and looked to see Uhura beaming down behind Khan. Aria slowly stood her hand on her stomach. Uhura looked to her and raised her phaser.

"No Uhura!" Aria yelled as Uhura shot her. Khan watched in horror as Aria was sent flying over the side of the shuttle. He rushed to the side of the shuttle and watched helpless as Aria was slammed into by another shuttle as she fell.

"No!" he yelled as he watched blood spatter into the air. He felt something hollow grow in the middle of his chest before pain spread through his shoulder. He ignored it as his mind reeled. He knew Aria wasn't dead, it would take more to kill her, but he did know she was severely injured, and in that moment there was nothing he could do. He was faced with an impossible choice, one much like he was faced with the day he had to escape from the federation when his torpedoes were found out.

"Uhura what are you doing here?" Spock asked as she continued to fire her phaser at Khan.

"Kirk we can save him but we need his blood!" She yelled over the sound of rushing shuttles that raced by. Khan slowly stood and instantly Spock pushed Uhura behind him. They watched as he turned and looked to them with a look of sheer rage. He rushed at them and they dove to the ground out of instinct. Khan leapt off the shuttle and onto another before slamming his fist down into an escape hatch and ripping it open. He jumped down inside and raced to the front where he snapped the drivers neck and tossed him aside.

"No…" Spock said as he watched the shuttle race far off as Uhura told the local federation police the shuttle model and identification markers. "No…"

"Maybe if we get him in time maybe we can still save Kirk…"

"Why do we need him to save Kirk?"

"His blood Spock it can regenerate ruined cells." He looked to her. "But we don't have a lot of time…"

"We don't need Khan… Not when we have Commander Aria Adne…" Uhuras eyes widened.

"She's-."

"Like him, get her transferred to the same hospital as Kirk tell McCoy he has the blood he needs."


	5. In an Augmented State

Arias head reeled. She was in a constant state of confusion. And her mind couldn't take it. She didn't know where she was other then it was bright. She didn't know what was happening to her other then it left her sluggish and in continuous pain. There was also one more thing she was feeling. Something she had never felt before in her life. Helplessness. She couldn't control her body. She could do nothing but lie there and sometimes wake up for a moment to steal glances of a sheer white room. The only thing familiar about the room was a sound that she couldn't place thanks to her constant state of confusion.

It was maddening, laying aware, and yet not. It was like whatever had been done to her, her body kept fighting, but kept loosing. There was no end in sight, and Aria would go as far to say as what she was feeling was torturous. She didn't even have the solace of her mind to retreat to her. Whatever was being done to her, by whoever was doing it, was keeping her mind from diving too deep. Her jaw clenched as she felt a sharp prick to her arm.

"S-s…Stop…" She muttered.

McCoy froze as he looked down to the frail, pale, chapped lip Aria. She lay in bed her eyes slowly fluttering open. Her hands feebly reaching against her restraints.

"Please…" She whispered her lip splitting from the mere action of speaking.

"Sedate her quickly." Spock said. She hissed in pain as another prick hit her arm.

"Please… Everything…" her eyes closed. "Everything hurts…" McCoy watched as her breathing returned to normal and her eyes shut completely.

"This isn't right."

"She aided Khan." Spock said and McCoy looked to him.

"Who betrayed who first?" McCoy asked and Spock tilted his head. "She tried to save your life on that shuttle and you knocked her down."

"How is the Captains treatment going?" He inquired changing the subject.

"After this transfusion of blood he should be alright…" He looked back to Aria. "I don't know how she's taking this. Anyone else would have died. "We've taken out all her blood supply a good 12 times now."

"The captain needs it."

"She needs her blood too Spock. What will happen to her after this?" He looked to Spock.

"I'm not sure, the Federation wants her for questioning about Khan…" He said. "Come we need to get that transfusion to the Captain…" With that Spock turned and walked out.

"Please…" Aria whispered softly and McCoy slowly turned away before walking off.

"You know those sedatives aren't helping her right?" He inquired as the door shut behind him.

-o-

Khan walked to the panel in his bunker. He was still trying to locate the young Aria. He had once located her at the same hospital as the ill Captain Kirk, he had no doubt in his mind that they were using Aria to cure whatever ailment had taken him. When he had gone to fetch her the night before, she was gone. Disappeared. A blip sounded and he looked to the screen to see one of his alerts had gone off. He smiled seeing Arias name and hit the news feed. A woman popped up onto the screen with a pleasant enough look.

"The recent attacks by one John Harrison have claimed another life. The youngest Battle expert chief ever in the history of the Federation lost her life today after she succumbed to injuries she sustained while being a hostage with the terrorist. She was 21 years old." Khan tilted his head as he saw a picture of a smiling Aria came up in her Federation uniform.

_What have they done to her? _

He knew she wasn't dead. Not unless they had sent her off into space, which he very much doubted they had. His eyes narrowed as his mind went to the darkest and most logical place. They had taken her in for questioning. For interrogation. And unlike others they had taken in she wouldn't die after they had done the worst to her. She had just been sentenced to life of torture.

"Not if I can help it…" He said before returning to his work.

-o-

Arias eyes slowly opened as she stared into the deepest black she had ever seen. Her breath hitched in her throat for a moment as she tried to rub the sleep from her eyes only to find she couldn't move her hands. She took a few moments as her heart began to pound in her chest. She needed to calm herself to get ready for whatever was about to happen. After a long moment she took a deep breath.

"Hello?" The lights flashed on and she hissed in pain as blinding light hit her. Her eyes closed tightly and she tried to reach her hands up to rub her eyes but was once more reminded that she was restrained.

"Sleeping beauty awakes…" She slowly opened her eyes and tilted her head as a tall slender man with blonde hair walked over.

"Where am I?" she asked.

"I'll be asking the questions Miss Adne." He said as he looked her over. "You look so normal…" he muttered.

"I am normal."

"Please don't talk out of turn Miss Adne." He said with a fierce look. She slowly looked him over. "Now let me explain to you what's happening." He said as two bots wheeled in a cart with a black box on it. "My name is none of your concern, and your name is no longer Aria Adne, it's prisoner 5469." Her jaw clenched. "I'm going to ask you questions and you are going to answer them." He explained as he opened the box. Aria tried to see what was inside but she couldn't spot anything from her vantage point. "If you don't answer me or you say something I don't like this will happen." He took out a hammer and Aria screamed as he slammed it down onto her fingers. "Shh Shh Shh… You'll heal… Maybe not as quickly as normally thanks to the blood we're continuing to take…"

"You mother fucker." He slammed the hammer back down on her hand and her jaw clenched as she made a pained noise, but refused to outright scream.

"I told you not to talk out of turn… Now…" He looked her over as he waved the silver hammer in front of her face. "Where is Khan?"

"I don't know."

"I believe you…" he said as he tilted his head before slamming the hammer down on her mangled fingers once more.

"I thought you said you believed me!" She yelled.

"Oh I did, but I also told you I'd hurt you if I didn't like your answer, and I didn't like that answer…" He said as he walked around the table. "Oh and once more." He slammed the hammer down onto her ankle and she screamed as she felt it shatter. "Don't talk out of turn!" He yelled over the sound of her pain before smiling softly. "What is Khans plans?" Her jaw clenched. "What are Khans plans?" She continued to stay silent and He slammed the hammer across her toes. Her eyes shut tightly as her head threw back in obvious pain. "Not talking will not spare you from punishment!"

"I'm not telling you a fucking thing." She said through gritted teeth. He rushed around the side and placed the hammer against her cheek as she shook. "We shall see." He pulled back the hammer and slammed it into the side of her face as her head threw back in a silent scream. "We shall see…"

-o-

Khan paced his bunker. It had been a month of searching for Aria. A month and he hadn't found her yet in his scans. He had expected to find her in less than a few days, but it seemed the Federation had learned to cover its tracks. Still he couldn't imagine what they had put her through in that amount of time. He slowly sat down as his eyes shut tightly.

"_He's going to turn on you Aria." _

"_No…" She said shaking her head. "No he wouldn't do that, besides with Scotty around he wouldn't let him… Scotty is a good friend of mine, almost like family." _

"_Aria use that brilliant mind of yours to see the outcome of this situation… Kirk will turn on you." Her jaw clenched. _

"_No…" She said. "No I've proven myself." _

"_Yes you have but he's not going to take that into account-." _

"_Why do you care so much anyways?" She asked and his jaw clenched as she looked him over. _

"_Because I hate that one of my own kind is being used and about to be taken as a fool." He said with a livid look. _

"_I can take care of myself." She went to walk away and he pulled her back. _

"_You don't have to anymore…"_

He shook his head trying to shake the memory away.

"_We're going down!" She called._

"_Then we mine as well put it somewhere use full." He said as half the panel burst into flames. _

"_What you're talking about it's going to kill thousands of people!" _

"_Eye for an eye!" _

"_You've killed enough Khan." _

"_It'll never be enough!"_

"_Khan stop this." He gripped onto her throat and slammed her up against the wall. Aria felt the air cut off and instantly gripped onto his wrist. _

"_K-k-k-khan…" She choked. _

"_Stay out of my way." He threw her to the ground and Aria coughed up blood as her wind pipe slowly began to heal it's self from being crushed. Khan turned away from the sight as his jaw clenched tightly._

"_I thought we don't hurt our own kind." _

"_When they get in the way of our advancement we do…"_

He sighed heavily as he looked to his panel. It was one of his worst memories. His hand gripped around her neck. He had seen it deep within her eyes, betrayal, as he had crushed her wind pipe. But then a few minutes later she was back on his side helping him. She was one of the most forgiving people he knew, and it was a huge downfall of hers. A blip sounded and he slowly looked to the screen before smiling softly.

-o-

Khan felt his feet connect with the ground and glanced around to see he was in a stark white room. He was glad his beaming capabilities where he was hiding were able to handle this rescue mission. After all there was no way he could break into a federation facility without it. He tilted his head seeing a strange red pattern across the stark white wall. He walked up to it and took a deep breath seeing it was fresh blood. A small noise sounded from behind him and he went rigid before slowly turning. As his eyes set upon an alarming sight his eyes narrowed and his jaw clenched. A young woman was strapped down onto a metal table with metal restraints. He took a deep breath as he slowly walked towards her.

"Aria?" he asked softly unsure if it was really her.

She was sickly grey with chapped and split lips along with split eyebrows. Blood trickled out the side of her mouth to pool by her head where a row of teeth sat neatly placed. Her fingers were twisted and mangled, she was covered in bruises and slashes. As he looked her over, he wasn't entirely sure she was alive. His jaw clenched as he slowly walked over to look at her vitals. She had numerous broken bones but that wasn't the most alarming thing. Her blood was nearly gone. She had less than a quarter quart in her body. A harsh rattle sounded making him jump as blood spurt from her mouth. His eyes went to Aria whose chest was slowly falling and raising. He walked over and set his hand on her cold clammy arm which had an odd curve to it thanks to a broken bone.

"What have they done to you?" he asked softly.

"Every…" A bloody tear fell down her cheek. "Every day you ask…" She said softly with a hoarse voice. "When are you going to learn?" She coughed. "That I'm not going to tell you a fucking thing…" She said softly and he looked her over to see she was struggling to just open her eyes. "Just…" She coughed blood sputtering out of her mouth. "Let me go, or let me die…"

"I'll do one better…" he said softly as he undid the restraints at her wrists and ankles. He lifted her up into his arms and stopped as she made a pained noise. He slowly moved and stopped again as a loud pop sounded in her side from a breaking rib. The once strong invincible Aria thanks to the Federation had been turned into a china doll. Breaking into pieces at the slightest pressure.

"No… Don't… Don't touch me…"

"I'm sorry." He moved and she cried out in pain as numerous bones with in her body snapped like twigs, the sound making Khan cringe. He hit a button on his lapel and gave a sigh of relief as they began to energize. Two men rushed into the room. He smiled at them before throwing two knives into their chest that sent a deadly electric pulse straight to their hearts. The last thing he saw was them falling to the ground dead before he and Aria beamed away.

-o-

Khan sat by a large bed. He was watching his blood drip down into an orb that was linked up to a needle in Arias arm. It was a transfusion, one she desperately needed if her body was even going to have a chance at healing properly. He looked down at his own arm to see blood flowing into another orb readying for the next transfusion. Aria made a small noise and he quickly looked to her. Her color was regaining but only slightly but the swelling in her face had gone down immensely. He watched as her eyes slowly opened to look to him. Khan moved forward his hand gently setting on her arm as he looked over her blood shot eyes.

"Aria?" he asked softly. She looked him over in what seemed like confusion. "Aria, can you hear me?"

"Khan?" She asked her voice still hoarse.

"Yes." He said with a smile. "Yes Aria, I'm here…" She took a shaky breath as a tear rolled down her cheek.

"You're…" she shook her head slowly as her neck gave a row of pops from a lack of use. "You're not really here…" She whispered before her eyes closed and her head lolled to the side. His jaw clenched. Before he was going to make the Federation pay for what they had done to his people, now though he was going to make them pay for the abuse Aria had sustained at their hands. "I won't… Won't tell you anything…" She whispered.

"I know…" He said softly as he took a medical pad and dabbed her forehead which had begun to sweat from the transfusion. "I know." She was delirious and he couldn't blame her. She had been pumped full of various types of drugs, so much so that they could have easily killed at the least thirty over grown men.

"One day you're going to slip… And when you do…" She laughed softly. "I'm going to rip the spine from your body…" Khan looked her over. Even delirious and injured the threat still held weight and worried even him.

-o-

Khan looked over Aria. It had been a week and she was near completely healed. According to the scans there was nothing wrong with her, other than exhaustion, and a severe spiral of hair line fractures across the left side of her face and temple. Still he had to wonder if they had done something else to her. Something his scans couldn't pick up. He slowly walked over to his panel and checked over the medical readings.

It seemed it was taking her long to heal because she had been kept at such a low blood rate for so long. He couldn't help but blame himself for her state. He had left her, left her like he had left his crew. He slowly turned around and gazed at her. He watched as a huge bruise across her cheek faded until it was gone. She took a deep breath the clearest she had taken in sometime. He looked back to her scans and watched as the hair line fractures in her skull began to all but disappear.

Aria slowly opened her eyes. She had expected pain right away. It had been what she had become accustomed to whenever her mind became clear enough. She slowly looked down at her hands to see they weren't strapped to a metal table. In fact she wasn't strapped to a table at all she was lying in a fairly comfortable bed.

"I'm dead…" She muttered.

"Afraid not." She leapt to her feet at the familiar voice only to instantly have her legs buckle from underneath her. Before she could hit the ground Khan rushed forward and caught her. "Don't move so quickly you're still not a hundred percent." He said walking her over to the bed.

"Where am I?" She asked slowly taking in the blue floors and walls.

"A safe location." He said as he set her back down onto the bed. He tilted his head as he watched her blood shot eyes heal right before him and become as clear as they were the first day he had met her.

"How did I get here? I was… Somewhere else…" She said looking around.

"You were in Alaska…" He said and she quickly looked to him.

"Alaska that place was in Alaska?" She asked.

"It's why it took me so long to find you, the scanners had to battle the ice…"

"You were looking for me?" She asked and he titled his head.

"Of course I was…" he said looking her over with a near soft expression. She casted her eyes to the ground for a long moment before slowly nodding.

"Thank you for saving me…" She said.

"Saving would imply certain death which we know is never a certain thing for us…"

"Then thank you for rescuing me." She said looking to him and he slowly nodded. "Khan… I'm so sorry…" He looked her over in obvious confusion. "You were right about everything, and I should have helped you earlier then fighting you every step of the way if I had maybe… Maybe they'd all be alive." He could see the guilt etched into her expression.

"It's not your fault, it's mine… I'm the captain I failed my crew… I also failed you."

"No…" She said quickly.

"I left you there after you got hit by that shuttle." He said and she looked him over to see an expression nearly resembling that of regret. "Then I let them take you off to have your blood used to save Kirk and then off to… Where you were…" His jaw clenched. "I tell you now though, we're going to find who did this to you and make them pay, make them an example..."

"Just one problem with that, I don't remember who did this to me." He looked to her.

"You don't remember?"

"It's all a blur." She said. "Which is strange because I can remember the color of my first pair of baby shoes."

"You were heavily drugged…" he said. "Do you even remember a name?"

"He said his name was none of my concern…" She muttered looking off. "All I know is that he wanted very badly to know what your next move was." She quickly looked to him. "I didn't tell them anything Khan I swear."

"I know." He said and she slowly nodded. "You don't remember anything about him? Nothing?" She thought back and her jaw clenched.

"No…" She said. "I know I would know him if I saw him again."

"Then we tear through the Federation until we find him…"

"Until?" She asked and he looked her over. "I want vengeance Khan…" she said with blazing eyes. "For our people."

"Do you mean our people this time, or our kind like you did before."

"I mean our people Khan." She said and he nodded. "Tell me what to do and I'll do it. You have my allegiance." He looked her over for a long moment before slowly nodded. "What do you want me to do Khan?"

"I want you to lay back and rest for a few more days." He could instantly tell that, that request hadn't been what she had expected. "Problem?"

"The fact it doesn't involve me doing anything to help."

"You'll get your chance first I need you a hundred percent."

"I feel a hundred percent."

"That's a lie you're at eighty percent tops."

"It's better than nothing…" She muttered. "I'm fine." He poked her side and cringed as a sickening snap sounded from a rib re breaking. Aria hissed in pain as she dropped to her knees cradling her side as she did. "You're like glass…" She instantly locked eyes with him and he knew in that moment what was going to happen.

"Son of a bitch!" She ran at him and tackled him to the ground. He blocked three of her punches and stared as her hand was surrounded by an energy burst and slammed into the ground next to his head to create a crater a good foot down. She pulled back her fist and went to hit him again only to have him catch her wrist and look it over with an intrigued look. "Uhm we were fighting here…" She said as he pulled the first closer to his face to look it over. "Khan?" he didn't say anything before she flicked the middle of his forehead making his eyes shoot to hers with a livid look. "What are you looking at?" He slowly stood making her do the same as he continued to look her hand over. "Khan?" she asked.

"You created an energy burst with your hand…" he said.

"Yeah." He looked to her.

"You knew you could do that?" He inquired.

"Of course I've been able to do it since I was a child… Can't you?" She asked and he blinked as he looked her over.

"Of course." He said and she tilted her head.

"Why are you so surprised then?"

"It's, normally something that is learnt not natural…" The lie tasted fowl in his mouth as he turned away from her. "Rest." She watched him for a long moment. "I said rest Aria." Her jaw clenched before she slowly sat down on the bed. Her hand braced against her side as she felt a pop in her side. Khan looked over her vitals to see the rib was once more completely healed. "Rest." He said again.

"You know you're incredibly bossy." She muttered as she laid back and stared up at the ceiling.

"Well I am the Captain."

"Of what we don't even have a ship."

"Are you so sure?"

"What?" she asked sitting up.

"Rest." She sighed heavily and laid back once more.

"Where are we?" She smiled hearing Khan give an exasperated sigh.

"Where would you hide out if you were a universal fugitive?"

"One of two places…"

"Which would be?" he inquired.

"A place at the edge of the verse…" he nodded. "Or a place close to the enemy."

"Which do you think I'd choose?"

"A place close to the enemy…" She said. "We're still in Alaska aren't we?"

"Yes." He said and he watched her vitals as her heart began to pump faster.

"There's nothing to be afraid of." Her heart rate instantly went back to normal making him quirk an eyebrow.

"I am not afraid…" She said her jaw clenching, and in that moment he knew not to say anything.

-o-

Aria slowly sat up in bed. She wasn't sure at what point she had fallen asleep, but she was glad she had. She felt better than she had in some time. Everything felt like new. Her bones, her skin, than again most of it was. Her tongue ran across the back of her teeth and she found that the ones that had been pulled during her torture had grown back.

Aria slowly got out of bed and tilted her head seeing a grouping of clothes. It seemed Khan had prepared for her to join him. She grabbed the bundle and slowly stood up in the self cleaning medical clothes she had been placed in during her torture. She walked over to a door and opened it up to see a bathroom.

"Thank you…" She said to no one in particular before closing the door and peeling off the black medical shirt and pants that resembled silk pajamas. She threw them in the bin before walking over to the shower and hitting the water on. She knew there would be no warm water, they were in a bunker of sorts and it would only be cold, and rationed. She quickly got in and scrubbed her body clean. When everything was done she hit the dryer and stood there as the water was blown off her body.

She stepped out of the shower and cleared the mirror of any participation before cleaning her mouth with the UV light. She took a hold of the clothes and pulled on a pair of skinny black jeans and a black hooded long sleeved shirt with square neckline. She tilted her head as she walked out and spotted a pair of studded boots. Her studded boots.

"Salvaged them from the hospital room you were in…" Khan said walking out from another room. "When I got there you already gone… But your boots remained."

"Well thanks for grabbing them, and thanks for the digs."

"Digs?" he inquired with a quirked eyebrow.

"Clothes." She said and he slowly nodded.

"No problem you'll need something tactical to move in, how are you feeling?"

"Like new." She said following him over to a panel.

"Glad to hear it, you have questions." He said and she nodded with a smile.

"Yeah like what the hell is our next move." Aria said and he looked her over to see she was staring at the panel at their location. "Khan… Eventually their tactical experts are going to wise up and figure out if we're not at the edge of the verse then we're still on planet…"

"You propose we move."

"I do…" She said with an affirmative nod. "Now you said you have a plan for a ship… What ship?" She asked and he stood before walking out. "Khan?"

"Follow me." He said and she instantly stood and followed him through a labyrinth of dark tunnels. He got to a door and punched in a code. It gave a hiss before sliding open. Aria took a deep breath as she followed Khan into a familiar feeling room. "Lights on." They clicked on and Aria slowly looked around. "We're already on the ship." He said as she gazed at the vast bridge.

"What bunker are we in Khan?" she asked.

"A shut down Federation bunker…" She laughed and he looked to her.

"We're on a ship…"

"That we are." He said.

"Man…" She said with a smile. "You've got some balls." She rubbed her hands together. "So if we're on a ship why aren't we moving?" She inquired looking to him.

"The ships core needed work." He said. "We'll be back online in two days time."

"Can this ship be run with just two people?" She inquired.

"Yes." He said.

"You're sure?"

"Yes." He said.

"Right then…" She said looking around. "I'm going to check our weapons bay." She said with a pep to her step.

"Before you do… We need to talk."

"About?" She inquired turning to look to him. "Because if it's about the questioning I've told you I don't remember much other than the pain…"

"No… It's about you." He said sitting down in the Captains chair.

"What about me?" She inquired throwing her red hair up into a messy bun where she twisted it into a knot.

"Where do you come from Aria Adne and is that even your real name?" She slowly looked to him as she turned one of the helm chair towards him and sat down. "You can speak openly here…"

"My name was Ariadne Hekate, when I was thirteen I had my name split Aria my first name Adne my last…"

"Why did you split your name?"

"Because Ariadne Hekate wasn't even my real name… And I can't tell you what my real name is because I don't know it…"

"What do you mean you don't know it?"

"My mothers name was Ariadne Till and my fathers name was Tobias Hekate… They were very much in love but despite the vast technologies of the age they could not conceive a child who did not die at birth… My mother in all gave birth to thirteen children."

"One of which survived." He said.

"No…" She said. "None of them survived…"

"But you-."

"My father said that him and my mother wanted me so much that one day in his lab I just came to be. An excuse given to a child who was confused why she could run faster and jump higher than the other children at her school… And why she wasn't allowed to play with said children…"

"What's the truth?"

"I wish I knew…" She said softly. "My parents died aboard the Starfleet ship the USS Bentley. I was still on planet with Harold Bradshaw, he adopted me afterwards. He was the only one other than my parents who knew what I was capable of but he did not know how I came to be, he was close though…" Her jaw clenched. "And then you attacked Starfleet headquarters and dropped a piece of building on him."

"I am sorry… If I had known you were there or your protector I would never have attacked…"

"It doesn't matter now." She said. "I know nothing of who I am and the one man who was getting close to it is dead…"

"Did he ever mention anything?"

"No… But… I did find something on his panel one day… An article about a man named Soong and something about stolen augmented Embryos…" he looked her over. "It was classified and when Harold caught me looking at the file he got very angry, first and only time he ever raised his voice to me… He was afraid I'd get in trouble…"

"Stolen Embroys?" He asked.

"Yes… Thirty had been stolen… I didn't want to believe I was made in a beaker but… Now I see that's the only way I am the way I am… Unless we aren't alike at all."

"I tested your blood we have the same augmentations." He said. "You are of my kind." She slowly nodded. Khan looked her over to see she had a strange expression. "What is it?"

"What if there are more of us out there then we think…" She said. "What if the other embryos came to term like I did?"

"We should research this if there are more of our kind we need to seek them out."

"And what?" She asked making him look to her. "Wage war?"

"You said you wanted revenge…"

"Well I've been awake longer now, keep in mind when I said that I had just woken up from a months worth of torture…"

"Now what is it you want?"

"Khan, there's two of us maybe a few more out there somewhere… Even if we got together we couldn't take down the Federation… I mean… It's the Federation."

"They were nearly brought to their knees before by a small group of us." He said standing.

"Not this small a group and the Federation has gotten way better at battle tactics since then trust me I know I was their lead battle expert… If we take them on… We will lose."

"You wish to run." He said with a livid expression and she laughed.

"You're not listening." She said with a smile. "Look we go find a planet on the outskirts of the verse away from Federation eyes… You and I work together to rebuild an augmented race…" He quirked an eyebrow. "I'm trying to say this without sounding like a complete cliché…" he quirked the other one. "We rebuild our race Khan…" She repeated like it was obvious but she could see he wasn't getting the big picture. "Holy hell man, I've got eggs you've got sperm."

"Oh." He said looking off.

"We can accelerate the Embryotic aging and in a few years have a full grown race to go after the federation." He looked to her.

"You've planned this…"

"Yeah the whole month I was having my fingers bashed in and my teeth pulled…" She said.

"There's one problem with the plan, inner relationships with the children."

"Relationships?" She asked. "Of a sexual nature…" She laughed. "Do we even have that want?"

"Of course we do…" he looked her over.

"Guess it's just me." He crossed his arms over his chest.

"You've never wanted for anyone?"

"A delicate way of putting it but no… I mean to indelicately put it I was always afraid I may break the person I was with… Alright so us repopulating is out of the question…" He saw the wheels turn in her head. "What if we created augmented humans from different strands of DNA… All we would need were the eggs and sperm…"

"Where would we get them?"

"Easy, Sperm banks and Egg donation centers…" She said. "We lack the equipment."

"I know where to get the equipment…" He said and she looked to him for a long moment.

"Did we just plan world domination?"

"We did."

"Good on us." She raised her hand and he tilted his head at it.

"What is that?" he asked. "What are you doing?"

"It's a high five you uhm… Hit it." She said

"Oh…" He slowly moved forward and punched her hand. She hissed in pain as her hand began to throb.

"Alright owe!" She said before looking to him.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah…" She said standing up straight as she felt the bones in her hand begin to heal. "We'll uhm… Work on it." She said as she headed off. "See you later Khan…" Khan watched her leave the bridge and tilted his head.

"She said hit it…"

-o-

Khan sat in his chair. He had been waiting for Aria to come back to the living quarters for some time. Nearing ten hours. He sat at the panel his fingers drumming against the cobalt as he did. His foot tapped. His mind wondered. It was in that moment that he realized he had grown impatient for her return. It was in that moment that he decided to go look for her. After searching the ship high and low his mind snapped realizing where Aria was. He headed down the turbo tube and waited until the door opened up onto the shuttle bay. He walked out and looked around the dimly lit room before hearing an explosion. He jumped as Aria flew back a good twenty feet and slammed into a wall before falling to the ground.

"Aria." He rushed to her side and helped up his soot covered battle expert.

"Fucking hell." She said as she popped her neck. "The state of these torpedo bays is pathetic." She said moving forward where he could see a small fire had erupted. She hit a button and ice shot out dying down the flames. "Out of the 200 torpedo bays this being the 200 hundredth." She said pointing to the one that had been on fire. "They're all shit." She said turning to look at him. "Our defensive phasers are in no good shape either only half work, as for the hand held defensive units aboard none of them are working." She said walking over to the table where he had seen she had taken a few apart to check what was wrong. "Also did I mention that the torpedoes aboard no longer fire but blow up… Hence all the burn marks in the torpedo bays. Oh and they don't even blow up to the point of being fatal so we couldn't even walk our enemies in here and kill them that way…"

"You do not seem pleased."

"The ship is shit Khan!" She yelled snapping and he crossed his arms over his chest as he calmly looked her over. "This ship can't even protect its self! And once we fire this baby up well then the Federation knows where we're going and with the ships they've built not even at warp will we have a fucking prayer at escaping them." She turned and looked to him. "And when they do catch us we can't even fight back…" He slowly nodded.

"Then we commandeer a vessel."

"That's what I was thinking." She said.

"Yes well we are very much like minded."

"I have a plan then." She said with a smile walking over to a table where she had digitally planned it all out. He looked it over for some time before nodding.

"How soon can we pull this off?"

"Give me a day to fix up the plasma rays?" She asked.

"You have your day." He said with a nod. "Anything I can do to help?" He asked.

"Well we could cut the time in half if you worked over one plasma ray and I looked over the other."

"Sounds good." He said as he walked over to a table where two were set up.

"They both have their own issues, this plasma ray has a delay, this one has an atom transference issue."

"I'll take that one." He said.

"Alright." She said sitting down and getting to work.


	6. A Deep Need

AN: Sorry this took so long to upload I lost five chapters of it in a crash and had to rewrite them... But there up now, hope people are still reading! Please review and tell me you're not angry for such the laps in update!

-o-

As the time passed Khan kept stealing glances at Aria. She really was very skilled when it came to weaponry. Then again it was to be expected she was the youngest battle weapons expert to ever grace Starfleet. He watched as she flipped a wrench to her other hand while simultaneously catching an atom scanner in the other.

"Do you find something interesting?" She asked not bringing her eyes to him as she worked.

"What?" he inquired quickly looking to his plasma ray.

"You keep looking at me."

"I'm watching you."

"Hence why I said you keep looking at me." She said with a smile and he sighed.

"I meant I was watching you work on the plasma ray."

"Don't worry I won't mess it up." She said scanning the weapon.

"I know, you're quite skilled."

"I take that as a very big compliment." She said as she tweaked the plasmas settings. "This is done I'm going to go check the shuttle we'll be using… Get it ready for tomorrow." Khan watched as she quickly walked away from the room. He tilted his head as he quirked an eyebrow. He wasn't sure but he was starting to get the feeling that she didn't want to be in his presence more then she had to.

As Aria walked her jaw clenched. She wasn't sure why but it had pleased her to know that Khan approved over her work. That realization though led to very different feelings. She instantly felt incredibly guilty. How could she want the approval of a man like Khan? After all he had done. After he had led an attack that resulted in the death of so many including the only father she had ever truly known. She reached the shuttle bay and took a deep breath as a memory flowed to the forefront of her mind. She took a shaky breath as she bowed her head and let her eyes drift closed.

"_Harold!" She screamed as she lifted rubble away from where he'd been standing not minutes ago. _

"_Miss he's dead we must evacuate!" A man yelled as he grabbed a hold of her. _

"_Leave me alone!" She pushed the man away a good fifteen feet, not caring to control her strength. "Harold!" She yelled hoping he would yell back. "Harold come on!" She lifted a huge piece of rubble away and let a horrified sob escape as she stared at the bloody face of her only friend in the world. "Harold…" _

"_Aria…" _

"_Why'd you push me out of the way?" She asked softly. "Why would you do that?" _

"_You have to look out for yourself now…" _

"_No… No you're going to be fine… Just fine…" _

"_I'm not like you Aria…" _

"_Harold please…"_

"_Run Aria…" _

"_No." _

"_Aria run!" _

"_I'm not leaving you!" She yelled as tears rolled down her face. "I'm not leaving you." She repeated as she took his bloody hand in hers. He coughed and her eyes widened as she watched blood trickle out the side of his mouth. "I hear the medishuttles coming…" She said softly. "You're going to be just fine…" He smiled. _

"_You know battle wounds Aria, you know what's going to happen… I know what's going to happen… But it's sweet that you're lying…" _

"_You can't leave me…" She said softly. "You're my dad…" He smiled softly as he slowly reached up and set a hand on her cheek. _

"_Don't cry… Everything will work out… You were the daughter I always wanted… You were the daughter I got to have… My sweet sweet girl…" Aria let out a soft sob as she watched him take in a raggid breath. "I love you so much…" _

"_I love-." Her voice was cut off by the sound of a siren. "They're here." She said looking up to see the medishuttles and she laughed in sheer relief. "Bradshaw they're-." she took a deep breath as her eyes rested on Harold. "Bradshaw?" She asked softly seeing his eyes wide and vacant. "Bradshaw?" she set a hand on his cheek. "Harold?" She set her ear to his chest and let out a sob. "No…" Her voice broke. "No no no…" She shook him. "Come on… They're right here… Come on… Dad please… Please… Don't leave me… I'm not ready to be alone… Dad… Please!" _

-o-

Khan slowly walked into the shuttle bay and stopped. Aria was sitting on a stool by a shuttle. An oil covered rag held in her hands which she rung over and over again. She was staring forward her jaw set firmly in place a tear rolling down her cheek. He tilted his head unsure of what to do. He slowly moved forward and stopped seeing blood trickle down her hands.

"Aria." She jumped and looked to him before staring down at her hands which she had rubbed raw with the cloth. "You're hurt." She quickly looked to her hands before giving a dismissive laugh.

"I'm fine I just cut myself on a… Engine part…" She said looking at the engine before her. "The coils are fried in this…" She said pointing and he nodded as he looked to them.

"Are you alright?" He asked more concerned about her then the engine.

"Just said I was fine." She shrugged.

"You were crying." Her jaw clenched as she stood.

"Yeah well you'd cry too if you cut your hand with a rusty coil." She said with a smile as she walked to a work bench. "I can try and clean the coils or look into the other shuttles see if they are properly working…"

"That can wait…"

"No it can't we need the shuttle for the plan…" Her jaw clenched. "You'll be needing it…" He looked at her back. Her tone had not been a good one.

"You mean we'll be needing it." She stood still for a moment before slowly turning and looking to him.

"It's strange thing…" She said softly as she looked him over. "Wanting to help someone so badly while simultaneously wanting to rip their spine from their body…" He slowly nodded.

"This is about Harold Bradshaw-."

"If you value your augmented life you will never say his name in my presence…" He looked over her dark expression.

"I told you if I had known you were there and your protector as well I would-."

"Have never attacked but you did attack." She said. "Didn't you?" She inquired. "By the way he was more than just a protector he was the only father I ever knew and you dropped a piece of fucking building on him." He saw the anger rise in her eyes. "I would kill you now." Her voice shook.

"I know."

"I would but that same man you murdered told me if I ever found someone like me, to stick by their side… Then you saved my life in that torture room… Now I have this warped sense of loyalty towards you… Again it's strange to want to help and kill someone all at the same time…"

"Ariadne… I promise you now that if you help me tomorrow if you help me commandeer a new vessel that I will begin making up the injustice I did to you." He said and she slowly looked him over.

"You, we…" Her voice broke. "We're just going to end up killing more people Khan… I'm going to cause the same pain to someone else that you've caused me… I've already caused it…" She said softly thinking back to the thousands of people she had helped murdered when they crash landed the Starship Vengeance. "How is that right?" He looked her over for a long moment and took in her distressed guilt ridden expression.

"You have an empathy to you, one I do not envy. You sympathize with me and the federation all at the same time…" He said as he looked her over. "It must be very confusing for you."

"As I've said…"

"Then let me help you sympathize with my cause more… Do you know why we came to be? Why we were genetically altered?"

"You said to keep the peace..."

"That's right…" He said. "Aria is the world peaceful?"

"The death rate is low, sickness is as well, crime and-."

"You were strapped to a metal table for a whole month and tortured." She slowly raised her eyes to him. "Does that sound peaceful to you?" She looked off.

"That's not the world though…"

"You are a battle expert." He said.

"Yes…"

"What has the world done for millions of years Aria?" Her jaw clenched. "What has the world done-."

"Battled."

"People killing people all in the name of power."

"And what are you doing Khan?" She asked looking to him and he felt his anger fly.

"I'm avenging our people, I'm avenging you and what they did to you!" She looked him over. "You think I'm going to just let that lie? Their crime against you?"

"I don't need you to seek vengeance for me Khan I'm perfectly capable on my own." She went to walk away and he grabbed her arm and wheeled her back around.

"Don't turn your back on me." Her eyes narrowed.

"I'd rather be back in that room having my teeth pulled and bones broken then to ever be indebted to you."

"Well you are indebted me now aren't you?" He wanted to take it back as soon as he had spoken it.

"I will help you take your vessel tomorrow, but you'll have to find a way to run it on your own… For after you have your ship you and I part ways." She went to walk away and he held onto her arm tighter.

"Aria…" Her eyes reached his and he saw pure hatred within them. "You are not indebted to me…" he watched as the hatred melted away into confusion. "You owe me nothing…"

"I'll help you tomorrow, but again I say after that we part ways."

"I don't want to…"

"I can't be around you Khan… It's too confusing…"

"I need you-."

"I'm no longer of use to you or your cause… I've been compromised by my empathy… You don't want me as the only member of your crew… But the least I can do for you until we part ways is help you get a ship…" With that she walked away towards another shuttle. He watched as she checked it over before slowly nodding. "This one is fine… You should use it for the plan…"

"What of you?" he asked his jaw clenching as he didn't meet her gaze.

"I'll fix the other shuttle…" She walked to him. "Tomorrow I'll stay here with the ship while you fly off in the shuttle it will give you further advantage, at your command I will fire upon the ship and the Federation will come to retrieve you…"

"I will do this on my own…" He said and she looked to him. "If you are to leave, you should do it tonight." She slowly nodded.

"I'm sorry Khan…"

"So am I…" He said quietly as he watched her walk away.

He didn't know what to do or say. He didn't know what would make her stay. He understood her reasons for leaving. He understood her confusion. Still he hated the fact it was causing her to be on her own once more and for him to be on his own for the first time. He stayed there in the shuttle bay staring at the floor for near an hour before he slowly headed back to the living quarters he had been sharing with Aria. He knew now he needed to implore her to stay. He wasn't sure he knew how to be on his own, nor did he want to be. He wanted Aria. Wanted her at his side, now he just needed to tell her so. When he arrived at the living quarters he stopped at the door seeing Aria was nowhere in sight. He looked around for a long moment before running back to the Turbo Lift. He got inside and waited impatiently as it rode down to the shuttle bay. He rushed out into the open and froze seeing the second shuttle was gone.

"Aria?" he asked looking all around for the shuttle though he already knew it was gone. "Aria!" He shouted. He slammed his foot into a metal table and sent it flying across the room. "Damn it all!"

-o-

Aria took a deep breath as she landed the shuttle in the harsh Alaskan wilderness. She had wanted to fly off planet in that moment. Or at least to the Bunker Bradshaw had set up for her, but she had just ended up flying about the bunker which hid the ship she and Khan had been sharing. She sighed heavily as she shut off the shuttle and buried her head into her hands.

"_I can't be around you Khan… It's too confusing…" _

"_I need you-." _

"_I'm no longer of use to you or your cause… I've been compromised by my empathy… You don't want me as the only member of your crew… But the least I can do for you until we part ways is help you get a ship…" With that she walked away towards another shuttle. He watched as she checked it over before slowly nodding. "This one is fine… You should use it for the plan…" _

"_What of you?" he asked his jaw clenching as he didn't meet her gaze. _

"_I'll fix the other shuttle…" She walked to him. "Tomorrow I'll stay here with the ship while you fly off in the shuttle it will give you further advantage, at your command I will fire up the ship and the Federation will come to retrieve you…" _

"_I will do this on my own…" He said and she looked to him. "If you are to leave, you should do it tonight." She slowly nodded. _

"_I'm sorry Khan…" _

"_So am I…" He said quietly. _

Thinking back the way he looked. The way he had sounded. It seemed as if he was in the middle of feeling confusion and disappointment. She knew in that moment she had let him down. Let her people down. But there was so much she was feeling, so much so it was hard to search through it all and find who she was at the core, and what her beliefs were.

She felt guilt over the people she had helped murder during the crashing of the Dreadnaught Vengeance. Anger over the fact McCoy had used her blood despite the pain it caused to save Kirk. Guilt once more because she was angry McCoy had helped Kirk. Rage because Kirk had ordered the mass killing of 72 members of her genetic augmented family. Another bout of Rage because after helping a man who killed those people she was sent to a bunker and tortured for over a month. The pain of which she could still feel deep down in some of her bones. Then she felt relief because Khan had saved her. Then Rage because she remembered that he had killed Bradshaw. Then she felt confusion because despite this she still felt a need to help him in his cause. She still felt an intense need to stay at his side. She felt a need for him.

_I… Feel… Need… For him? I need him? _

In that moment many moments began to flood into her mind each helping her to sort through the confliction emotions that had been plaguing her for months.

"_John Harrison!" She yelled over the sounds of battle. He stared up at her wide eyed, then again his eyes was all she could see through his masked hood. "You are hereby put under arrest for the ruthless act of terrorism." He flipped up onto his feet and went to punch her but she easily caught his hand before kicking him across the face and knocking him back down to the ground. He went to get up and she spun kicking him across the face and back down to the ground. "Stay down." She ordered as a Klingon rushed at her from the side. She threw her knife and it slammed into the middle of its head and out the back of its skull. Khan slowly stood and she slammed him back down to the ground. "I said stay down!" She yelled having no cuffs to put him in. He went to stand and she went to hit him again but he caught her hand gripping onto it as he stood up straight. She tried to pull her hand away and stared when she was incapable. She stared down at the gripping hand for a long moment before slowly looking up at the man who loomed over her. _

"_Hello…" He said. _

"_How-." A bang sounded and she was cut off as a great power source slammed into her and knocked her off the ridge and onto the harsh ground below. _

"_No!" Khan yelled._

"Why was he upset that I got hit when I had just handed him down a beat down?" She asked herself softly.

"_Hands." She said and he slowly outstretched them. She un did the cuffs and turned to leave. Kahn moved forward and took a hold of her wrist wheeling her around. _

"_Commander!" The men yelled raising their weapons._

"_Cease fire." She said before they could shoot. _

"_You shouldn't turn your back on a person like me." Khan said and she tilted her head at him while quirking an eyebrow in what almost seemed like challenge. _

"_And why is that? Do you think you're dangerous?" She asked before smiling. "Trust me when I say… You can't hurt me." He slowly pushed up her sleeve. _

"_Is that so?" She slowly looked down at her arm which had ached since he had grabbed it back on Kronos. Her eyes rested on a strange mark upon her skin. Her eyes slowly widened as her mind snapped to realization. _

"_Bruise?" She asked her voice barely above a whisper. _

"_You're quite fragile when it comes to me dear…" He said softly and her eyes narrowed as she stared at him._

"Dear… He called me dear…"

"_I would say it differently but this is all being recorded for the archives, now isn't it Aria?" _

"_Commander Adne to you." _

"_Ariadne…" He said and her jaw clenched. "The immortal goddess of Greek mythology… Couldn't have been more perfect name if you had chosen it yourself…" He stated with a dangerous look. "Maybe you did choose it your-."_

"He could have turned me in right then… Told them what-who I was… Lied and said I worked with him…"

"_Same regeneration as Harrison…" McCoy said looking over the blood scan. _

"_Put her in with Khan." Kirk said and her eyes widened. _

"_Sir." She said softly as she was lifted up onto her feet. "No please…" She said as the cuffs were undone. "I'm not working with him!" the barrier opened and she was shoved in violently. Khan caught her before she could slam into the floor._

"He could have just let me fall… And in that moment I was glad he hadn't…"

"_You lied to your Captain about not knowing anything about me..." He said and she looked to him as she continued to pace. _

"_Do shut up." She said. "Oh no wait talk as much as you like, that's how you work right I tell you to shut up you talk more, I want you to talk you say nothing…" _

"_Why?" He asked. _

"_So that's not how it works…" She muttered. _

"_Why did you lie?" _

"_I don't know alright?" She asked looking to him as she came to a stop._

"I lied because… Because I felt the need to protect Khan… After all I knew I had to protect him why? Why would I do that? After the vows I had taken…"

"_I am sorry for your loss." He said trying to keep his jaw from clenching as they spoke for the first time about Bradshaw. _

"_Sorry that I lost him or sorry that you murdered him?" _

"_Sorry for your loss but even more sorry that I was the one who killed him and caused you such pain…" She slowly looked to him surprised at his admission which had been completely genuine. "If you join me I promise you I will do everything in my power to set things right."_

"_It's never going to be right…" She said her jaw clenching furiously_

"I was so angry in that moment because I knew he really was going to do everything, and somehow I knew that the pain I felt over Bradshaw would be made right again, and that though scared me more than anything… I loved Bradshaw as a father and it wasn't right that my grief not reside deep within me for the rest of my days…"

"_Follow me…" He followed her to the turbo lift and threw the boys a smirk as he got on. Before they could join the doors closed and they headed towards the medical bay. Aria took a breath before she reached forward and hit the halt button. Kahn slowly looked to her to see she was staring forward. _

"_What is it Aria?" He asked and she continued to stare forward for a long moment. Maybe his scheming hadn't been for nothing. "Aria?" She shook her head._

"_Nothing…" She said softly before she hit the button that made the turbo lift begin to move once more. He tilted his head as he looked her over._ _He slowly reached forward and hit the button stopping their travels once more. He heard Aria take a calming breath as he looked her over. _

"_What is it?" She stayed silent. "Aria?" _

"_Why were we genetically altered?" She asked. "It's not in the history…" _

"_As I've said… To lead the world out of darkness…" He said. _

"_The way I see it… The world is very dark right now…" _

"_Yes it is…" He said. _

"_I… Hate you." Her voice shook and he looked off as his jaw clenched. He wasn't sure why but her words had cut him. _

"_I know."_

Arias jaw clenched as her head bowed forward. Her voice had shook not because of her anger towards him. But because of her grief and disappointment within herself. She had needed to tell him she hated him. Needed to admit it so she could feel the rage directed towards him. But when she said it. There had been no rage deep within no hatred for him, and that realization had scared her more than anything.

"_You can't outrun a ship like that." Aria said pointing at the screen the ship had just been seen on. "Not a ship like that, and now Marcus will make us all pay for it…" Carol instantly ran from the room. "Carol?" She ran after her. "It won't help!" The Turbo Lift doors closed blocking her and Aria turned cursing. "No one ever listens to me." She muttered. _

"_What's going on?" McCoy asked. _

"_Get ready Bones you're about to become very busy." She said. _

"_What are you-." She ship gave a sudden violent lurch and everyone within the room went flying. Kahn crossed the area between him and Aria and caught her right before she could slam into a wall filled with glass medical supplies. She stared at the glass for a long moment before slowly looking to Kahn who still held her in his arms. _

"_You alright?" He asked as she slowly stood up straight._

Though flying into the glass instruments wouldn't have killed her it would have hurt her greatly. Cut her up something fierce, even impaled her in some parts of her body. In that moment though that he had caught her she had been shocked and grateful all at the same time. She had looked up at him and he had, had a near soft expression as he looked her over before inquired as to if she was alright. Her mind raced forward to the crashing of the dreadnaught Vengeance.

"_Brace for impact…" A voice said coming over the ship. Aria gripped onto the panel readying herself for the collision. _

"_Here we go…" She said before looking to Khan. He stared at her for a long moment to see her eyes flashing with vengeance. He slowly looked down at her hand that rested right next to his on the panel. Aria took a deep breath as she felt something touch her hand. She slowly looked down and stared at Khans hand that had rested over hers. She took a moment before her eyes travelled up to meet Khans. _

"_Thank you Aria Adne…" he said and she smiled softly as she looked him over. Before she could say anything the ship slammed into the ground. _

"_Khan!"_

Right before the ship had collided into the ground. Right when she had seen his hand resting upon hers. Her heart had pumped faster than it ever had. Even faster than in battle. Before she could even relish within the feeling the ship had slammed into the ground and she had pushed Khan out of the way of danger while she flew right into it. One second she was flying through the air, the next agony had filled her side.

"_Aria!" she heard Khan yelled. "Aria!?" She slowly looked down to see a jagged piece of metal sticking through her and had taken a shaky breath as she saw blood begin to pool around her. "Aria!" She had wanted to call out to him but she was still in shock. She pushed on the rubble that had fallen on top of her and instantly heard him rushing towards her. "Aria…" it was lifted away and she didn't miss the horrific look in his eyes. _

"_Kahn…" She said as blood trickled out the side of her mouth. His eyes travelled down to her abdomen to see a sharp piece of metal a good 3 feet in length a half foot in width sticking through her side. "I now know why he said sorry." He slowly looked to her as he cupped her cheek. "The captain said sorry because he knew I was going to die on this ship…" _

"_You're not going to die on this ship." He said as his arms moved under her. _

"_What are you doing?" he pulled at her and she instantly cried out as she shook in his arms. "Stop!" His eyes closed tightly knowing what he was about to do would cause her much discomfort. She let out a sound of pure agony as she slid off the sharp piece of metal. _

"_You're fine give it a moment…" He said waiting patiently for her body to heal._

_She was covered in blood. Filled with agony. There was so much blood and she could tell from how her body felt that she was healing. She was sure she was going to die. She had looked up at Khan to see him looking down at her, and for the first time ever, she had seen fear in his eyes. Still she herself wasn't afraid. It was the third time Khan had held her in his arms, and she in that moment realized it wasn't such a terrible place to be. _

"I didn't want to die in that moment… I want to stay with him…" She slowly looked around the cold shuttle she sat in. "I want to stay with him still… I can't go back though… Not now…. It's over…" her jaw clenched as she bowed her head forward. "It's all over... It's all wrong…"

-o-

Khan sat beside the fixed shuttle. It was ready to use, but he did not care. All he did care about is the person he was supposed to share it with was gone. Gone and he didn't know where. He wasn't even sure he could find her again, unless captured by the federation. And he didn't wish that not at all.

He knew there was a chance of this, of her leaving. Especially after all he had put her through. But he never expected to feel the way he did. Even though he could feel the hollowness in the middle of his chest and the heaviness at the pit of his stomach, he could not name the emotion which plagued him so. All he knew was that he wished Aria hadn't left.

"Maybe…" his jaw clenched not being able to get the rest of his words out.

_Maybe I miss her… Of course I miss her, I was going stark mad when she was in the clutches of the federation and I knew not how to get to her once more. How did she grow on me so when the first time we met she knocked me off my feet…_

"Indeed she did…"

_A Klingon jumped before her and she slid between its legs before spinning up onto her feet and stabbing one of her knifes through the back of its neck. She turned and rushed towards the high ridge Harrison stood upon. She kicked up the ridge easily and tackled Harrison to the ground. She punched him across the face and slammed her foot down onto his chest._

Khan couldn't help but let a laugh rumble from deep within his chest. She had taken him down so easily. As if it were child's play to her.

"_I said stay down!" She yelled having no cuffs to put him in. He went to stand and she went to hit him again but he caught her hand gripping onto it as he stood up straight. She tried to pull her hand away and stared when she was incapable. She stared down at the gripping hand for a long moment before slowly looking up at the man who loomed over her. _

"_Hello…" He said. _

"_How-." A bang sounded and she was cut off as a great power source slammed into her and knocked her off the ridge and onto the harsh ground below. _

"_No!"_

He would never forget the way his heart had skipped a beat seeing her fly off from the ridge after being shot down by the Klingon. He supposed it had only taken that one moment of her staring into his eyes as his equal he knew he had met his match. From the first moment he had met her she had tested him in nearly every way. She had tested his fighting. His anger. Most of all his patience.

"_Commander Aria debris ahead, large debris I recommend diving under it not over." Spock said. _

"_Right." Khan watched as she dove under it elegantly before returning right back to place. _

"_Scotty we're nearing the hatch." She said. "Any chances of getting it open? You're making me nervous." _

"_Working on it Lass." _

"_Shit." _

"_Captain what is it?" She inquired hearing his voice. _

"_My helmet was hit." _

"_It'll hold we're almost there." She said. "You're still off course sir." _

"_I'm aware Aria thank you."_

"_Khan debris ahead." Spock said. _

"_Re directing." Aria watched as he wound in and out of the debris easily. _

"_Aria debris ahead quickly!" Spock ordered. Aria looked just in time to see a large piece of steel the size of a shuttle float in front of her. She tried to avoid it but cried out in pain as she slammed into it. _

"_We've lost Aria!" Khan looked as Spocks voice flooded into his ear piece. He searched for Aria to see her twirling through space completely out of control. _

"_Aria?" He asked. "Aria?!"_

"_She's off line Khan…"_

Just like when the Klingon had shot her down he had felt panic rise in his chest like never before. Normally he would never cry out for a fallen comrade in the presence of an enemy but he couldn't help himself when he had seen her slam into that wreckage. He couldn't have ignored the feeling of great relief that came over him upon seeing Aria flying true and straight once more even if he had tried. Then When her shoulder had smacked into the tongs of the hatch on the way in. He had seen it, the impact, He had heard her cry of pain and he had wanted nothing more than to go to her aid. But the way Kirk had been watching them, there was no way he could without him thinking that she had been with him all along. Still the need to be near her after that, after nearly losing her to the cold stillness of space. To the near collision with the wall of the Dreadnaught Vengeance.

_Aria gasped as a hand was clutched over her mouth and she was pulled down a dark corridor_

"_Shh…" Khan said as he pushed her up against a wall his hand still over her mouth as his body pressed against hers in the tiny space. She glared into him heavily as she started to fight against him. "I'm not going to hurt you…" She slowly stopped resisting him as she quirked an eyebrow. "Just stay quiet Aria." She slowly nodded._

"_What's going on?" She asked softly as he removed his hand. _

"_Kirk has deserted you." She scowled. _

"_Technically I've deserted him thanks to you dragging me down here." _

"_Khan Aria!" She heard Kirk call. Before she could call back out to Khan he moved his hand over her mouth and pulled her deeper into the dark corridor. She pulled at his hand but he just held her tighter and she sighed heavily when she heard Kirk and Scotty rush past. He let go of her and she pushed him away instantly._

"_What the hell are you doing?" She asked. _

"_Kirk has deserted you-." _

"_So you've said." _

"_No he has, he doesn't trust you anymore." _

"_Again I say so you have said…" She stated. _

"_He thinks you're working with me." _

"_Can you blame him? If I were him I'd think so too." She whispered. _

"_He's going to turn on you Aria." _

"_No…" She said shaking her head. "No he wouldn't do that, besides with Scotty around he wouldn't let him…"_

"_Aria-."_

"_Scotty is a good friend of mine, almost like family." She said shaking her head quickly as Khan gripped onto her shoulders. "He wouldn't let the Captain-."_

"_Aria use that brilliant mind of yours to see the outcome of this situation… Kirk will turn on you." Her jaw clenched as she looked him over. "Don't ignore your instincts…_

Even though he was trying to have a serious conversation. Trying to make her see the light, and the flaws in her allegiance she held true and firm in her beliefs. Despite the gravity in which they had spoken at that point in time he couldn't deny the pull he had had to her in that moment. He had enjoyed the close quarters with her. His body pressed firmly against his.

"Wait…" Khan sat up straight as his eyes narrowed on the shuttle before him. He had wanted her. Not just her allegiance but her. "No… That…" his mind travelled to the crashing of the Dreadnaught Vengeance.

"_Once we land and if we survive…" He looked to her surprised she was talking to him after he had crushed her windpipe. "We'll need to run get far away from the crash sight… I have a place, a hideout Bradshaw set up for me, in case anyone ever found out what-who I was…" _

"_You're helping?" He asked looking her over. _

"_Bradshaw once said if I found anyone like me, I should stick by their side, so that's what I'm going to do… His advice never failed me before." He looked to her to see she was staring forward her jaw clenching her eyes fueled with rage. "We'll only be able to hide there for a few weeks… But that's a few weeks to plan our next step… I'm sorry that I tried to stop you…" he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "I'm sorry it took me this long to see the evil hearts of the men I worked for… I'm sorry I did not trust you and that I took a stance of that as an enemy towards you rather than an ally which you and our people need most of all… But I make this promise now… I will make it up to you and to our people… That is… If you'll still have me…" _

"_Yes." He said instantly and without hesitation. _

"_Brace for impact…" A voice said coming over the ship. Aria gripped onto the panel readying herself for the collision. _

"_Here we go…" She said before looking to Khan. He stared at her for a long moment to see her eyes flashing with vengeance. He slowly looked down at her hand that rested right next to his on the panel. Aria took a deep breath as she felt something touch her hand. She slowly looked down and stared at Khans hand that had rested over hers. She took a moment before her eyes travelled up to meet Khans. _

"_Thank you Aria Adne…"_

In that moment he had reached out to touch her hand. His heart had beat faster than it ever had. Even in battle. When his fingers had rested upon her skin time had stood still. Even it was just for a second it had felt like ages. In that moment he had memorized everything about her. Her deep emerald eyes. Her hair that could only be described as scarlet burgundy or even blood in color. All of these things and more he had worked hard to make sure he remembered for the rest of his days, and just like then now he did not understand completely why he had felt the need.

"_Khan!" He felt himself get thrown in the opposite way of the impact before hearing a scream of agony. He held on tight as the ship rocked back and forth violently and gave sounds of pure destruction. _

_Khan slowly looked around the wreckage to see what he stood in no longer resembled that of a Dreadnaught class ship. It more resembled the sight of a junkyard. Sharp metal pieces stuck out everywhere, shattered glass riddled the floor. Still he was not where he had expected to be, he expected to be at the forefront of the ship where it had slammed into the ground but he instead was at the back behind a control panel far from harms way._

"_Aria?" he called realizing what she had done. "Aria!?" Silence followed his calls and he slowly looked around the ship fearing the worst. "Aria!" He saw a pile of rubble shift and quickly ran to the sight. Leaping over piles of scrap metal as he did. "Aria…" He began lifting heavy pieces of the bridge away until he got to Aria whose jaw was shut tightly. _

"_Kahn…" She said as blood trickled out the side of her mouth. He knew in that moment he would never forget how pale she had become in that moment. Not the beautiful porcelain she normally was. But a sickly pale near grey, due to the blood that had begun to pour out of her body thanks to the wound._

"The way she said my name…" he said softly as he looked down at an engine piece in hand. In the moment he had lifted the piece of wreckage off her body and she had said his name. He had heard it in her voice. Fear. Normally such a tone of voice would make his stomach turn and think the person pathetic. But he could feel no such emotion towards Aria, not when he himself was so afraid in that moment. He had lost his crew he couldn't lose her as well.

"I have lost her though…" he said as he got up and walked through the shuttle bay to stop at the place where a shuttle once stood.

"_I now know why he said sorry." He slowly looked to her as he cupped her cheek. "The captain said sorry because he knew I was going to die on this ship…" _

"_You're not going to die on this ship." He said as his arms moved under her. _

"_What are you doing?" he pulled at her and she instantly cried out as she shook in his arms. "Stop!" His eyes closed tightly knowing what he was about to do would cause her much discomfort. She let out a sound of pure agony as she slid off the sharp piece of metal. _

"_You're fine give it a moment…" He said waiting patiently for her body to heal. Aria looked around her hands shaking, her jaw clenching from the pain. _

"_It's taking too long… You have to run." She said and he looked down at her. _

"_I can't leave you here, you have no idea what they'll do to you once they catch you…" _

"_I don't care." She pushed him away and he stumbled back. "Run, they can't get us both." She said as she slowly sat up against a broken panel. Her hand pressed to her abdomen and winced as blood flowed through her fingers. "Khan run!" She ordered and he slowly stood. "Go…" He slowly nodded. "Khan?" She asked before he went to run off. "For the short amount of time…" Her voice broke. "It was an honor to stand at your side… Captain…"_

"_The honor was mine…" He said softly before turning and leaping off the bridge._

Her last words to him had moved him more than anything. She had looked at him in pure admiration for the first time ever. There was no hatred in her eyes. No vengeance. Just esteem. He knew it had taken her a lot to call him Captain, but the fact she had, had meant more to him than anything. He had jumped off the bridge completely intent on getting to safety but after his jump he could not find it with in him to run. Not without her.

"I can't… Be without her but why?" His eyes widened as his jaw clenched. "Why!?" He bellowed as he threw the engine part across the room. He started to pace. Trying to out walk the memories of Aria. Trying to out walk her body. Out walk her skin. Out walk her hair. Out walk her voice. Especially out walk her eyes. "If I cannot walk her out of my mind I will battle her out of it." He said running at his top speed from the room.


	7. Truth Be Told

Aria sighed heavily as she paced about her shuttle. She wanted to go back. Needed to go back but she wasn't sure what she would say. How she would apologize to Khan. After all she had abandoned him, the realization having brought her more guilt then she could ever imagine. It had already been ten hours and she knew time was running out. Still she couldn't think of a way to make him want to take her back.

"I can't just sit here forever the time of battle is upon us!" She yelled. A sudden beeping sounded and she looked to her control panel with a raised eyebrow. She walked over to it and ran her hands over the controls before her eyes widened. "Khan… You big dumb incredibly intelligent idiot…" She muttered her hand slamming against it before she took a seat and readied to do what would undoubtedly need to be done. "He drives me crazy!" She yelled snapping.

-o-

Khan readied for battle. He would not follow the plan Aria had laid down. Not when she had abandoned him on top of it. He would not take the ship in secret, he would instead take it out in the open as to more shame the men aboard and of the Federation. He could not fly the ship, not with one person. So he would wait at the helm for them to rush in and take him as a prisoner and then unleash his true plan. He just wished they'd hurry up, for every second that past Aria came closer and closer to the forefront of his mind. A beep sounded and he looked to the panel and smiled.

"Here they come…" He said before turning with a smile as he got down on his knees and put his hands up. He heard the turbo lift and looked to the doors. His jaw clenched when they opened up and a familiar voice sounded.

"Khan!?" Aria shouted looking all around.

"Aria…" He slowly stood and she rushed to him.

"What the hell are you doing this wasn't the plan!" She shouted grabbing his shirt and shaking him. "Jesus Khan do you have a death wish or something!?"

"What are you doing here?" He asked looking her over.

"Later, look they've sent a Dreadnaught ship."

"No." He said.

"No? Khan I saw it with my own eyes." She said her anger starting to fly, he was wasting time.

"No there was only one."

"Well they made another! My plan, your plan, neither will work now we need to adapt."

"You don't even know my plan." She gave a cynical plan. "What is funny?"

"Khan I'm a battle expert I know how people battle. You were going to let them take you alive aboard the ship and then ruin it from the inside am I correct?"

"Yes." He admitted his jaw clenching.

"There's just one problem with your plan."

"What's that?"

"They aren't going to take you alive." She said taking a hold of his hand and running towards the turbo lift. "Their guns are already pointed at the bunker we need to get to the transporter room and get aboard the Dreadnaught class ship…" She said as they rushed aboard the lift. She hit a button and Khan hit the halt button. "What the hell are you doing!?" She asked her eyes wide as she went to hit the button only to have him grab a hold of her wrist and push her up against the wall. "Khan…"

"Why did you come back?" He asked his chest pressing against hers as he stared down at her.

"What?" She asked blinking.

"Why did you come back for me?"

"There isn't time to talk about this-."

"Why Aria?" She sighed heavily as her jaw clenched. "Why did you come back for me?"

"To keep you from getting killed…" he slowly nodded and looked off. She could tell he wasn't happy with her answer. She wasn't sure if he wasn't happy because he knew it wasn't the whole truth or because it wasn't what he had wanted to hear. "Khan… I…" his eyes slowly moved to hers. "I… I wanted to come back the second I left…" she admitted softly and he saw only honesty in her eyes. "I'm not confused anymore, I'm sorry it took abandoning you to figure that out… I never should have left… I'm so sorry Khan…" She took a deep breath as his hand slowly moved from her wrist and raised to her cheek. Before his fingers could touch her smooth skin an alarm sounded. She moved away from him and hit the button of the turbo lift. "We need to leave now…" She said her eyes not meeting his. "Their weapons are locked." The doors opened and they rushed out together. "Here… These were aboard my shuttle they are functioning…"she said handing him a Phaser. "You go first and then beam me aboard." She said before looking to him. "That is if you still want me."

"Yes." He said walking to the transporter. "I still want you." He turned and looked at her for a long moment. "Energize." She punched in the code and watched as the energy began to wrap around his body. The alarm sounded louder than ever as she rushed to the beaming pad. Her foot bounced as she looked at the flashing emergency lights in the room.

"Attack imminent, Attack Imminent, Abandon ship, Abandon ship." A voice urged from over the intercom.

Khan smiled as he beamed aboard the transporter pad on the Dreadnaught class ship. His eyes went to two men who stood up quickly their eyes wide. Before they could hit an alarm he raised his phaser and killed both men before rushing off the pad and over to the control panel. He punched in a code and waited as Aria was energized right before him. She looked all around her phaser pulled before smiling and rushing off the pad.

"Got me out of there just in time." She said and he looked down at the controls to see the destination she had been no longer existed. "Ship was destroyed."

"And they think us along with it…"

"Acting Captain Bastille…" A French voice said coming over the cons. "Get two shuttles ready for two away teams to search the wreckage of the ship destroyed."

"Searching for our bodies…" Aria said.

"They should have scanned the ship for life…" He said.

"So should we split up?" He looked to her. "I'll take the lower decks you take the helm?"

"You would clear all the lower decks yourself?"

"Khan you're the Captain you need to take and secure the helm the rest is grunt work."

"You are no grunt."

"Ah that's sweet." She said with the wit he had missed since her departure. "I may not be a grunt but I am a battle expert, so let me do battle while you do Captain like work." She said clapping him on the shoulder. She went to run off with the brightest smile he had seen in a while. He reached forward and grasped her arm before she could disappear. "What is it?" She asked turning to look at him.

"Be… Careful." He said his jaw clenching as he said it. She smiled softly.

"You too, I'll see you on the bridge." She said and he nodded before she rushed off. He heard a cry of pain and rushed out to see two men dead and Aria long gone.

"To the bridge it is." He said pulling out his Phaser and rushing down the corridor. As he ran he shot down two men who dared run at him. He got to the turbo lift and headed up to the bridge. He checked over his phaser readying to kill anyone who got in his way. The doors opened up and he fired upon the men stationed outside the bridge killing them all before he could make a noise. He rushed down the corridor and walked out onto the bridge to see a young man with curly cut brown hair and green eyes staring at him in what could only be described as fear. He raised his phaser and Khan in turn shot it out of his hand.

"What will you do now?" Khan inquired and the man went to hit the alarm only to have Khan shoot his hand. He yelled out in agony as he dropped to his knees. "Now what will you do?" he inquired walking to him.

"If you want me to beg…" the young man said his jaw clenching as he stared up at Khan. "I will not."

"No no young man… I don't want you to beg… I want you to die." He set the phaser against his chest and pulled the trigger. The man fell back dead to the floor as Khan bent over and picked up a communicator. "Aria, check in." he said.

"How did you know I'd pick up a communicator?" Her voice came and he smiled.

"Because it is what I would have done." He said with a smile as he brought up the security footage. "What is your location?"

"Shuttle bay, I'm running a scan on the ship to see if anyone is left…" he ran the scan as well.

"Only two aboard the ship." They said at the same time. He tilted his head hearing male screams and watched as the two blips on the scan disappeared.

"Ship is now clear." She said and he smiled realizing she had killed the two men left.

"Alright, I'm initiating warp."

"I'll meet you on the bridge." As she ran Aria couldn't help but laugh. They had taken the dreadnaught class ship as theirs, and now they were near unstoppable. She made it onto the turbo lift her smile never failing as she rode up. She was glad she hadn't gone off planet but instead stayed behind ten hours while trying to figure out how to say sorry to Khan. She still found herself surprised that he had taken her back after she had abandoned him. She walked out of the Turbo lift and froze seeing two men with plasma rays pointing at Khan inside helm.

"No I don't think so." She said and they spun hearing her. She shot their hands making them drop the weapons as she rushed forward.

"Aria?" Khan asked hearing a noise. He spun just in time to see Aria being slammed down by a large man. He slammed his fist across her face and she in turn pulled a knife from a thigh holster and stabbed into into his neck. She pushed the body off of her before throwing her knife over Khans shoulder he spun and watched as a man dodged it before raising a plasma ray towards him.

"No!" Aria yelled. Before Khan could react he was pushed out of the way and the man fired the plasma ray into Aria who flew back against a wall a good fifteen feet away. Khan rushed forward and kicked the ray from the mans hands before grabbing him by the shirt and slamming him down onto the ground before punching the man over and over again across the face.

Aria slowly stood up as she checked herself over. She was unscathed and in minimal pain. She looked around to see Khan nowhere in sight. Then she spotted blood flying up in the air. She slowly walked over to a panel and looked over the side to see Kahn slamming his hand into what looked like a pile of pomegranate. It was in that moment she realized the red pulp was connected to a neck and body.

"Khan…" he didn't stop. "Khan..." Her eyes closed hearing the slushing noise of the pummeled head he was hitting. "Khan!" She yelled and he instantly looked up. "I'm pretty sure he's dead." He looked down his jaw clenching at the pile of pulp that no longer resembled a human head.

"Right." He said as he stood and straightened out his shirt one of his hands completely covered in blood and what looked like brain matter.

"How did the ship not see them in the scan?" She asked walking over the bodies to his side. He bent down and picked a square metal device off the belt of the man he had killed. "What's that?"

"A device I had made for warriors aboard the dreadnaught ships, in case of a hostile takeover it would send out a pulse that would disrupt the scanning process and shield them from sight…"

"How many could be aboard the ship?" She asked.

"I'm not sure I myself made only one but who knows how many could have been constructed by now…"

"Computer." Aria said walking to the control panel. "Bring up all security archive…"

"Bringing up Archive…" The computer said back. Aria searched them and smiled seeing a group of four men down in the shuttle bay readying a shuttle to escape.

"You can hide from the scan but not from the cameras…" She said.

"Good thinking."

"Those must be the last trying to escape…" She said. "I'll get them."

"No need." Khan said walking to her side. "Computer release air bubble on shuttle bay."

"Releasing bubble." Aria bowed her head as the men were suddenly sucked from the room and out of sight. Their fate was not one she envied. A death by space was worse than what she could ever imagine.

"Computer send medibots around the ship to clean up the dead."

"Sending Medibots…" Silence fell upon them for a moment and Khan looked her over. He tilted her head seeing a troubled expression.

"Aria what is it?" he asked.

"I just had a scary thought…" She muttered before moving forward.

"Computer how many ships of this class are made and or in production?" She asked.

"That is classified information…"

"Authorization code 267b2492f."

"Authorization code accepted…" Khan looked to her. "The Dreadnaught ship Freedom was the last Dreadnaught ship to take flight, there are six more in production and four finished."

"They're making a fleet." She said her jaw clenching as she thought things over. "Khan I suggest we ward off our original plan to reproduce a race of Augments and instead shut down Federation Production on Dreadnaught class ships."

"Agreed…" He said with a nod.

"Computer where are the ships being made?"

"Classified information."

"Authorization code 267b2492f…"

"Authorization Code not accepted."

"What is the status of the confidentiality?" She asked.

"Level X." The computer replied.

"Enter Authorization code Alfa Golf Kilo November Tango Mike India 67497 Quebec." Khan stared at her further.

"Authorization code accepted…" Aria smiled before looking to Khan who quirked an eyebrow.

"I've done a lot of classified work…"

"I see…" he said.

"The location of the ship outpost is Coordinates 23-17-46-11." The computer said.

"That's Jupiter yes?" She asked looking to him.

"They're making the ships in the same place as where the Dreadnaught Vengeance was made…" He said with a smile. "Foolish…"

"Very… Shall I set course?" She asked with a smile.

"Yes." He said and she moved forward to the control panel. "Auto Pilot Aria."

"Yes…" She said initiating it.

"Auto Pilot Initiated." The computer said.

"And with that we are on our way…" She said turning to see a Medibot moving in to drag the dead inside away.

"No need to remove incinerate on sight." Khan said.

"Yes. Sir."

"Khan… After they are done with the dead we should either reprogram the droids or destroy them." She said walking to him. "They take archive footage archive footage that could be used against us in the future."

"I'll Re program them just as I will reprogram the ship."

"Of course." She said with a nod. "Just in case those men in the shuttle bay were not the only aboard I'm going to do a room to room search."

"I'll help." She smiled.

"You're the Captain you don't do things like this anymore." She said before walking away. She made it to the Turbo lift, before the doors could close Khan walked in. "What are you doing?" She asked eyeing him.

"Helping." He said.

"It's beneath you Khan."

"Then it is beneath you as well for you are my equal." She slowly looked to him.

"You're not cross with me?" She asked.

"Why would I be cross with you?"

"I abandoned you and the quest for the vengeance of our people."

"You needed time away to sort things out and in the face of danger and near annihilation you came back despite it all… Why did you come back?"

"I told you, couldn't let you get yourself killed…" She said as she slowly looked forward and the doors opened. She walked through rather quickly and Khan let his eyes follow her form before heading out himself. "You know." She stopped suddenly causing him to nearly run into her back. Aria turned and jumped seeing him just inches away from her. She took a step back and ran her hands down her clothes. "I was just thinking." She said looking him over. "That checking the ship would go faster if you took one level I took one level and then meet at the bridge when we're done or something…" He only nodded. "Good you take this one." She said before walking past him onto the Turbo lift. She looked to him as the doors closed to see Kahn was looking back his head tilted. The second the doors closed she let out a sigh of relief. Now that she knew what she knew she couldn't be close to him.

"Just focus." She said coaching herself. "This… This is just… An… Infatuation… you found someone just like yourself of course you'd feel a… Pull… of some sort… Just ignore it, it'll go away…" The doors opened up and Aria gasped as she jumped back. She covered her heart seeing a medibot with a body held in his arms.

"Did not mean to startle miss." It said.

"No it's fine, as you were…" She said moving past the bot and out into the hallway. "Are all bodies away?"

"Yes miss."

"Well… That's good on your way."

"Yes miss." It said moving past her onto the turbo lift. She took a breath as the doors closed and pulled a phaser she had lifted off one of the men she had killed. She looked it over with a smile.

"I wonder if Khan designed this…" She shook her head quickly. "Focus Aria…" She coached herself. "I wonder if he did though…" She muttered. "No stop it."

As Aria began searching the rooms one by one she couldn't help but let her mind wonder back to Khan. When they had first run together onto the turbo lift of the ship they had shared together before. He had pinned her up against the wall. His eyes fierce, his hands latched onto her wrists, his body pressed against hers. He had been angry, and she hadn't blamed him. Then he had asked her why she had come back and his expression had near softened. His hand had raised to touch her cheek and in that moment she had wanted nothing more than to feel his touch, but the alarm had been sounded and other instincts kicked in.

_What were my instincts to begin with back in that Turbo lift? Who am I kidding my instincts were to beat him to the punch and reach out and touch his cheek… Gingerly not punching him like I've done so many times before… Not even sure I could raise a hand to him now that I know what I know… Now that I'm pretty sure how I feel…_

"Wait…" She spun around and jumped seeing Khan right on top of her. "Jesus Christ!" She jumped and slapped him in the chest. "Khan you scared the hell out of me!" She said covering her heart.

"I've never seen you so jumpy." He said eyeing her.

"Well getting tortured for a month will do that to you what are you doing down here?" She asked. "I thought we were going to take it level by level."

"I didn't like the idea of splitting up." He said his eyes moving over her slowly.

"Khan… You don't have to worry about me leaving again…"

"I know…" He said.

"Then we can split up."

"I don't want to…" She looked him over for a long moment. She could feel it rising in her throat. An admission of sorts. A sentence that should be left unsaid, but for some reason she couldn't stop herself from saying it.

"Things have changed between us… Haven't they?" She inquired softly as she looked him over. Khan stared at her for a long moment before tilting his head.

"Why did you come back-."

"Why do you keep asking when I've already told you?"

"Because what you said was a lie."

"No… No I saw the Dreadnaught class ship and I knew they were going to blow you to hell, so I came back to save your ass." She said with point.

"No there was a ten hour span where you could have come back at any time, and the fact you knew the ship was in the airspace tells me you never even left planet but stayed around the bunker… Why did you stay around?"

"Okay see you asked why I came back you never asked why I stayed around."

"Semantics…"

"We're augmented humans we love semantics."

"Aria." He said in a warning tone.

"Look…" She said with a sigh as she ran her fingers through her red hair. "I knew the second I left that I wanted to come back."

"Why did it take you ten hours to do so?"

"Because… I was trying to think of a way to apologize…"

"And it took you ten hours?"

"What do you want from me Khan?"

"Why did you want to come back?"

"I… Don't know." She said with an annoyed sigh. "I just did." She turned and walked away from him.

"There must have been a reason." He said.

"Why are you so hung up on this, I'm here, are you not happy?" She suddenly turned. "Do you not want me to be here?" She asked looking him over.

"If I didn't want you to be here I wouldn't have beamed you aboard the ship but let you get blown up on the other one."

"Right… Comforting Khan." She said before turning and walking off Khan instantly following her. "So then why are you so hung up on why I'm here just be happy I'm here."

"I am happy." He said before reaching out and taking her hand spinning her around to face him. "I am Ariadne…" She looked at him for a long moment her mind focusing on the fact his hand was holding hers.

"That's… Good… Then… We're good?"

"Yes. We are." They stared at each other for a long moment Arias jaw clenching as she looked at him.

"I came back because I missed you." Aria took a deep breath, she hadn't meant to admit it out loud. "Missed, missed as in…"

_How the fuck do I back pedal out of this situation!?_

"Missed as in…" She looked up in thought. "You know because we're the only two of our kind left." She said quickly and in that moment she was giving herself a mental high five. She looked to him with a soft smile.

"I… Missed your company as well Ariadne…"

"You can just call me Aria…" silence settled over them for a long moment.

"Okay." He said and in that moment all Aria could feel was the awkwardness. "Aria…" Khan wanted to shake his head it felt wrong to just say one part of her name. "Adne…"

"Right…" She wanted to walk away but couldn't bring herself to. "What's wrong?" She asked before he could answer she shook her head. "Never mind you're fine you're always fine." She went to walk away but stopped before slowly looking down to see his hand still holding onto hers. It seemed that he had never relinquished it.

"Something has changed between us." Her eyes slowly trailed up to his.

"I don't know… What…" She took a breath and shook her head. "What you're talking about…"

"Yes…" he said as his hand slowly travelled up to her cheek. "You do." Before his fingers could so much as gingerly touch her cheek she moved away from him her hand pulling from his as she took a huge step back.

"Nothing… Can change between us…"

"When you were gone I did a lot of thinking." He said. "I… I… Missed you." Her expression softened as she looked him over. "Couldn't stop thinking about you... Really… I've discovered I have feelings for you Ariadne." She laughed softly. "What is amusing?" She laughed further. The way he had admitted it had been near robotic, and his jaw had been clenching so hard she had heard it pop. It was in that moment she realized just how hard it was for him to admit anything he thought or felt. "You're still laughing."

"I'm sorry I'm not laughing at you." She said her hand going to his arm as she steadied herself.

"There is no one else here…" he said looking around. "You are there for laughing at me." She laughed further as she turned away from him. "Perhaps prolonged time in space has made you hysterical." She laughed again as she fell back on a bed in the room he had followed her into.

"I'm not hysterical." She said.

"You are laughing hysterically. Should I take you to medical bay?"

"Sorry. Sorry. Let me just…" She sat up and took a deep breath. "Let me just get a handle on myself." She took a moment before looking up at him. "I'm sorry you just made me laugh."

"So you were laughing at me."

"Not in a mean way." She said with a soft expression. "It's just when… When you said you had feelings for me." She laughed. "Oh my god you looked so angry." She stood up.

"It is not easy for me to admit… How I feel…"

"Well relax because you don't have feelings for me, well maybe you do but they're not genuine." He tilted his head.

"They feel genuine."

"Khan you just lost your people in a fiery blaze." His jaw clenched. "I'm the last of your kind, and a woman, it would be natural for you to develop feelings for me-."

"I've had feelings for you far before my people were lost…" She looked him over.

"What?" She asked.

"You're the only woman to have knocked me off my feet... Literally. Only one to also have openly challenged me and my authority… Actually you're the only person to have ever done that-."

"Wait wait." She said cutting him off. "You have feelings for me because I'm a major pain in your ass?" Khan thought about it for a moment and suppressed the urge to smile.

"Yes… I guess so."

"Here all this time I've been trying to start relationships by being nice and docile to the opposite sex…" She muttered looking off in thought. "Silly me."

"What of you?" She looked to him. "You said you missed me…" She smiled.

"It's funny."

"What is?" He inquired as he looked her over.

"We being augmented humans and elevated in all things but when it comes to our non genetically enhanced human brothers and sisters we still act like them when it comes to establishing a new relationship."

"You do have feelings for me then…"Khan said reading between the lines.

"It's why I had to leave." She admitted her eyes not meeting his. "Had to sort through everything I was feeling from the wanting to kill you to the wanting to be with you… Which by the way I don't want to kill you anymore… So that's… Progress."

"Well you wouldn't have been able to anyways."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" She asked looking to him.

"You couldn't kill me I'm he supreme one."

"Oldmansayswhat?"

"What?" he thought on her words. "Old man… Says…" he scowled and looked to her cheeky smile. He really did miss her giving him some hell. "You changed the subject."

"We should… Get back to searching the ship Khan. You take this level I'll take the next."

"Why don't you want to be around me, if you have feelings for me?"

"Honestly?" She asked looking to him and he nodded. "It's not that I don't want to be around you it's that we really need to clear the ship and if we split up it will go faster which means we get to be around each other faster."

"Right…" She nodded at him.

"See you on the bridge soon." She said before heading off. "Oh don't forget that guy in the closet." Khan looked to the closet and instantly heard heavy breathing. He had been so focused on Aria he hadn't even noticed the threat around them, yet it seemed she had. He pulled a phaser kicked the door open and shot the red shirt that had been cowardly presiding there.


	8. Dreadnaught Port

Aria smiled as she looked over the panel of the bridge. They would be approaching Jupiter within the next two hours. She was glad that they were going to end the production of all Dreadnaught class ships. If they were to have the only one, they would be near unstoppable. Her jaw clenched as she thought back to the battle between the dreadnaught class vengeance and the USS Enterprise. She had been against it from the beginning but then they had blown their people to all hell. She couldn't focus on that right now though. She had more important things, like breaking the tracking mechanism that linked their ship to the Federation. She was surprised they hadn't checked in to see how the mission had gone to kill herself and Khan. She heard the turbo lift and sensed khan walking onto the bridge.

"Do you know what the name of this ship is?" She asked.

"No, I didn't get a look what is the name?" He asked walking to her side.

"It's the Dreadnaught Resurrection." She said with a smile looking to him.

"Fitting."

"I thought so."

"What are you working on?"

"I'm trying to break the tracking Mechanism that links this ship to the federation… Everything I try won't work…"

"Here let me." She moved out of the chair and he sat down his hands moving quickly over the panel. Aria heard a beep and walked to the helm looking it over.

"Khan?"

"What is it?"

"We're being hailed." He looked to her and nodded before walking over to the Captain's chair and sitting down. "It's the Federation, a call from earth."

"Patch them through Ariadne."

"Aye." She said. Khan tilted his head as a man around his late thirties came into view. He had a calm look and then his eyes widened.

"Yes…" Khan said. "I'm still alive." Aria couldn't help but smile she could practically hear his smirk.

"Where's the crew?"

"Dead." The mans jaw clenched.

"How dare you?"

"No." Khan said. "How dare you, try and kill me?"

"You've killed thousands-."

"Try millions." Khan said his eyes narrowing.

"The point is do you think we're just going to let that lie?"

"Do you think I'm just going to let lie the senseless murder of my crew and the torture of my first officer?"

"I know of your crew but not this officer you speak of…"

"Battle Expert Aria Adne." Khan said his jaw clenching.

"Aria Adne is dead…"

"Aria…" Khan said and she slowly walked into view.

"I knew you had linked up with him." The man said his eyes narrowing. "You're a traitor to your country!"

"You left her no choice." Khan said.

"So what's your plan, you two against the federation and its planets?"

"My plan is to make everyone feel the pain that I experience every day over the senseless obliteration of my race. You all brought this upon yourselves."

"Now listen here-."

"No listen here." Khan said his eyes narrowing. "Thousands more will die on this day, and there is nothing you can do."

"What are you planning-." Khan hit a sequence of numbers and the signal went dead.

"Khan we lost transmission." Aria said walking to a panel.

"That's because I cut it we are now free from tracking by the Federation." He said getting out of the captains chair.

-o-

Admiral Kings jaw clenched as he stared into his transmitter. The dreadnaught class ship had disappeared from his radar. He had no clue where Khan was going. Or what he was planning. Just that it was going to result in the death of thousands of people. He took a breath before hitting a sequence of buttons. He waited before seeing a familiar face.

"This is Captain James T Kirk of the USS Enterprise how can I help you Admiral King?"

"It's about Khan…." Kirk felt his jaw instantly clench.

"Go on sir…"

"Our attempt to locate Khan was successful we sent a dreadnaught class ship after him-."

"And he took it over am I wrong?" Kirk asked.

"You are not. Now he and his first officer have taken over-."

"He has a first officer?" Kirk asked. "Has another Augment been located sir?"

"One we already knew about… Aria Adne."

"My former battle expert?" He asked. "No that's impossible she died… her funereal was a few weeks ago… I attended."

"There was no body in the casket." Admiral King stated.

"Why was there no body in the casket?" Kirk asked his jaw clenching.

"Aria Adne was deemed a threat. After her blood saved your life we took her to a facility-."

"You said she had died succumbing to injuries endured by Khan…" Kirk said his eyes wide.

"No… She was taken to facility for questioning. To find out what she knew about Khan." The Admiral explained.

"Questioned?" Kirk asked. "You mean tortured."

"Force was needed yes, she wouldn't talk."

"Maybe because she didn't know anything-."

"It doesn't matter now because she along with Khan has threatened to kill millions of people. Khan is dangerous on his own, but with a battle driven mind like Aria Adne he is unstoppable… We need to finish this, and finish it now before they can plot anymore destruction."

"Sir the USS Enterprise is a ship meant for exploration… Not battle." Spock looked to Kirk a little surprised.

"That's why I'm ordering you to dock your Ship at coordinates 23-17-46-11… I'm giving you a Dreadnaught class ship to hunt these terrorist down."

"If I refuse."

"Then you and your whole crew will be disbanded from star fleet." Kirks jaw clenched.

"Mission accepted." Kirk stated reluctantly.

"Good I'm sending you the threat sent by Khan, study and get what you can from it."

"Yes sir." The transmission went dead. "Spock I need you to get Scotty and Bones to a conference room to discuss the missions."

"Aye captain." Spock said.

"Sulu take the chair get us to Jupiter."

"Aye sir."

Kirks jaw clenched as he walked through his ship. He couldn't believe he had been lied too. Actually after his run in with Admiral Marcus he could believe it. Still he hated the fact that Aria, whose blood had saved his life at great pain to her own person, had been tortured after it all. He knew upon the dreadnaught vengeance near the end that Aria wasn't a part of Khans original plan. He had chosen to bring her on after finding out who she was and what she was capable of. Still her allegiance had been to the Enterprise, and thanks to him her allegiance had switched.

"Am I hearing we're getting a dreadnaught class ship?" Scotty asked walking in with McCoy and Spock.

"Yes." Kirk said. "Take a seat." They all sat down at the table. "A message came through by the new Admiral of Star Fleet, Admiral King. Late last night they tried to locate Khan." The air grew heavy at the mentioning of the augments name. "According to this they thought he had been killed but upon the admiral checking in he discovered this." He brought the recording to the screen to show Khan sitting in a Captains chair.

"Yes…" Khan said. "I'm still alive."

"Jesus." McCoy said. "The bastard made it through."

"Where's the crew?" they heard the Admirals voice ask.

"Dead." The mens jaw clenched.

"How dare you?"

"No." Khan said. "How dare you, try and kill me?"

"You've killed thousands-."

"Try millions." Khan said with a powerful smirk.

"The point is do you think we're just going to let that lie?"

"Do you think I'm just going to let lie the senseless murder of my crew and the torture of my first officer?"

"I know of your crew but not this officer…"

"Battle Expert Aria Adne." Khan said his jaw clenching.

"What?" Scotty asked his eyes wide.

"Aria Adne is dead…"

"Aria…" Khan said and she walked into view.

"Oh my god…" Scotty said softly seeing the girl he believed to be dead. "Aria…"

"I knew you had linked up with him. You're a traitor to your country!" The admiral shouted.

"You left her no choice." Khan said and they watched as Arias jaw clenched.

"So what's your plan, you two against the federation and its planets?"

"My plan is to make everyone feel the pain that I experience every day over the senseless obliteration of my race. You all brought this upon yourselves."

"Now listen here-."

"No listen here." Khan said his eyes narrowing. "Thousands more will die on this day, and there is nothing you can do." The video went dead.

"That's when tracking was lost on the Dreadnaught class ship they had commandeered." Kirk asked.

"Kirk… Did you know she was alive?" Scotty asked his jaw clenching.

"No I too thought she was dead." He said.

"Well that isn't dead." He said pulling up the image of Aria standing next to Khan. "That is very much alive and did I hear torture!?"

"Scotty calm down." Kirk said. "I'm just as angry as you are."

"I thought this might have happened…" McCoy said and they looked to him. "I spent nearly every day with her when we were giving you blood transfusions… It would take much more than some blood loss to kill that girl."

"So what's our missions board a dreadnaught class ship and hunt both Khan and Aria down?" Scotty asked.

"Yes." Kirk said his jaw clenching.

"If anything Aria is a victim not a terrorist." McCoy said. "There's not a bad bone in her body."

"After being tortured there might be." Spock said. "And as I've said before, she began to sympathize with Khan near the end. They were running away together when I intercepted them."

"Our lack of faith in her drove her to him… That's our fault not hers." Kirk said.

"Even so she has chosen to stand beside khan."

"Well I would too if I was being tortured and he saved me." Scotty said.

"I agree." Kirk said. "Here's my plan we kill Khan and save Aria." Kirk said.

"Captain I do not advise that… She is just as dangerous as Khan if not more… She is a battle expert… You've seen what she's capable of." Spock said.

"Yes and I'd prefer her on my side then his… I at least need the chance to talk to her."

"I like that plan." Scotty said nodding.

"Sir?" Sulus voice came over a communicator.

"Yes Sulu?" Kirk asked.

"We are approaching the coordinates with in a twenty minutes."

"Thank you."

"Aye sir."

"We need to now choose the crew we will take, as a dreadnaught class ship does not hold as many as our current bird does." Kirk said.

"I volunteer." Scotty said.

"As do I." McCoy said.

"Me as well, and I do recommend Uhura." Spock said.

"Sulu and the wee boy Chekov?" Scotty inquired.

"Good, I want all higher up redshirts as well." Kirk said.

"Aye captain." Spock said getting up to do so.

"I'll get together a medical crew." McCoy said dismissing himself. When they were gone silence settled over Kirk and Scotty for a long while both unsure of what to say. Kirk looked over the Scotsman for a long moment seeing guilt ridden in his expression.

"Scotty…"

"I promised Harold Bradshaw that if anything happened to him I would take care of her." Scotty said. "What did I do though? I shot her down, helped nearly kill her, then believed she was dead when she was really being taken to some facility to get tortured and questioned…"

"You couldn't have known Scotty-."

"It doesn't matter now does it?" He asked before getting up and walking away.

"Sir?" Sulus voice came. "We are arriving and are ready to dock."

"Go ahead and Dock Sulu then meet me in the shuttle bay you'll be coming along for the ride."

"Aye sir."

-o-

Khan watched from the Captains chair as Aria stood in front of a panel. Images were flashing at her quickly, barely staying in front of her eyes for half a second before the next bit of information was put before her. She was learning. Learning everything about the dreadnaught class ship. It was impressive, incredibly so. He was starting to see that some of her Augmentations exceeded a few of his. He was waiting to tell her this, and ask if he could examine her blood further, he had already asked so much of her already though so he would be patient. The last of the images flickered and Aria smiled as she closed down the information Khan had unlocked for her.

"I'm guessing you have a plan of attack?" Khan asked.

"Yes." She said bringing up the schematics of the construction port they were about to attack. "With this ship it will be simple, we may have to battle a little but it's nothing the defensive phasers can't handle especially if we set them to a Crolax formation battle pattern."

"Crolax?" he asked.

"It's a battle equation I thought up a few years back. It sets the phasers out in such a way that hardly any ship can get past or enemy phasers as well." She said entering the equation and bringing up a simulation for him to see.

"Brilliant Ariadne." He said and she smiled as she looked to him.

"We should be sneaking up to the port within the hour…"

"Perfect." She sat down and he tilted his head. "What are you doing?"

"Learning everything I can about the federation before my key codes are revoked." She said. "And they will be soon now that they know I'm aiding you." He nodded. "Also I'm going to try and find a planet suitable for us to regroup and ready for the next phase of our plan, somewhere away from federation eyes and enemy Klingons."

"I've already found such a planet suitable, one much like earth but lacking in oxygen."

"Don't we need oxygen or are we just going to stay on this ship forever?" She asked and he eyed her.

"We don't need Oxygen Ariadne." He watched as she stopped breathing seemingly testing out what he said. After a long moment she smiled.

"Well would you look at that you learn something new every day." She said.

"After this we're going to have a long discussion on what an Augmented human is." He said.

"I gladly welcome it, I know so little about what I am or capable-."

"Who you are Ariadne… Not what."

"You could just call me Aria you know…" she said looking to him. "We've reached that point."

"I like using your full name." She only shrugged.

"Suit yourself." She said. "Are we going to hail port before we attack or just side swipe them?"

"No we have honor." He said. "We will hail them."

"Aye Captain fancy pants." He scowled at the back of her head. "No don't like that name?" She asked turning to look at him.

"You know I would have ripped some ones throat out if they had called that before."

"Yes but my throat is too pretty to rip out." She said with a cheeky look.

"If we find the other augments please refrain from calling me Captain Fancy Pants in front of them." He said his jaw clenching and she laughed.

"You're up tight man, you need to learn how to stride." She said with a smile.

"Stride is to walk with a long gate, I do this already because of my height." She laughed.

"You just proved my point." She said with a smile.

"You are insinuating that I am… too… Stern with myself?"

"Yes you got to have some fun in life…" She said with a smile. "Smell the rose as it were."

"Why would I smell foliage?" She laughed and shook her head.

"Never mind." She said with a smile. He tilted his head as he looked her over.

"I was kidding." She looked to him in surprise before laughing.

"Eventually I'll get used to a jest or two of yours." She said with a smile.

-o-

"This thing is scary." Uhura muttered looking over the battle capabilities. They had entered warp away from Jupiter per order by the federation.

"It'll be interesting to see how this fairs against another dreadnaught class ship." Carol said.

"Any transmissions from the Dreadnaught Resurrection?" Kirk asked sitting down on the chair. He moved for a second scowling. The chair wasn't as comfortable as the one on the Enterprise.

"No sir." Uhura answered.

"They could be anywhere." McCoy said standing at his side.

"Let's think for a second…" Kirk said. "He's not alone, and if he's smart he's listening to Aria when it comes to battle techniques…"

"Your logic is sound…" Spock said.

"You know whenever you say that…" Kirk began carefully. "It makes me think, nay feel." He said putting up his index finger. "That you find me incredibly unintelligent."

"I am merely reiterating your logic Captain." He said and Kirk just laughed as he looked off.

"Anyways…" he began. "If I was Aria Adne, a very pissed off Aria Adne, what would I do?" he looked up in thought before his jaw clenched. "Sulu we need to turn this baby around."

"Sir?"

"Head back to Jupiter now!"

-o-

"Hail them Ariadne."

"Hailing." She said. "Bringing image up." Khan smiled as he spotted a young man with black hair staring at him.

"Who the hell are you and why the hell do you have one of my ships?" He asked.

"Oh it's not your ship, in fact none of the dreadnaught class ships in port are yours…" Khan said.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"You and your human comrades are un deserving of such weaponry…" Khan said his jaw clenching.

"Khan they're locking phasers…" Aria said quietly getting ready for attack.

"I designed those ships…" Khan continued. "Used my intellect to make them possible. There for they are not your ships, they are my ships, and I would rather see them destroyed then in the un deserving hands of low beings such as you and your human companions."

"You're Khan."

"And you are dead, Fire." He smiled as he watched Aria punch in the codes of her weapon stations sending thousands of phasers towards the facility. Explosions instantly followed and Khan couldn't help but smile.

"Aria give me a scan of the facility."

"Aye…" She brought it up. "Khan the Dreadnaught class ships are situated all around the facility, we can strike them down one by one, or I recommend un loading a pay load of or long range missiles."

"Whatever you think is best." She nodded and quickly punched in a code with one hand before punching in another code with the other. "Ready to fire on your mark."

"Fire." She punched the code in and Khan smiled as he watched the torpedoes shoot towards the facility. They slammed into the facility Khan felt the ship back up as a wave from the explosions travelled towards them. When they were clear of the wave Aria moved the ship forward and began to shoot down any shuttle that came their way. The attack only took ten minutes after which a field of debris was all that was left behind of the Dreadnaught port. "Scan for life."

"Scanning…" She brought out the schematics. "A few alive but barely…"

"Barely is still alive." She looked to him. "Finnish them." She slowly nodded and fired a few more missiles.

"Scanning…" She said quietly and Khan eyed her. "All life eliminated."

"Good…" Khan began to enter the coordinates of their next destination. Aria took a deep breath as she spotted something across the Debris field.

-o-

"Oh my god… There all dead…" Uhura said softly looking over their scans.

"Looks like we found Khan though…" Kirk said spotting the ship across the debris field. "Uhura hail them."

"Yes sir." She did as he said.

-o-

"Khan…" Aria said softly.

"Yes?" He asked punching in the coordinates to their next destination.

"Look." He brought his eyes forward and perked up. There across the debris field lay another Dreadnaught ship. "Khan the Dreadnaught Enterprise is hailing us… Enterprise." She looked to him. "You don't think…"

"Anything is possible… Bring the transmission up." She nodded turning back to the panel. Khan smiled as the image of one Captain Kirk came to the screen.

"Khan." He said.

"Captain James T. Kirk…" He said in an almost bored tone. "You're not dead…"

"No and I have someone to thank for that… Aria?" Kahn watched as her eyes flickered to the screen. "Aria you there?" She looked to Khan and shook her head.

"She doesn't want to talk to you kirk." Khan said looking back at the Captain. "See she's still a little cross about giving up her blood to save your life only to then be shipped off to a facility where she was tortured for a month…"

"Aria I didn't-."

"You talk to me not to her." Khan said his jaw clenching.

"No I am going talk to her… Face to face." Khan watched as Aria began to glow as she began to energize.

"Khan…" She said looking down at her hands. "Khan I'm energizing." She said in a slight panic. She watched as the glowing stopped and she looked to Khan who was smirking.

"Nice try." Khan said. "But as usual you've failed Kirk. You didn't really think I was going to run the risk of you taking her from me did you?" He asked. "Aria?"

"Yes?"

"Fire." Her hand hovered over the panel for a moment. She felt guilt, guilt she was about to kill everyone she had once worked with, but then she remembered her people, Scotty stunning her, Kirk abandoning her, Spock attacking her after she had saved him, and the torture. Now she no longer had any reservations. Before Khan could order her to fire once more she hit the sequence of orders and a pay load of missiles were fired. Her head tilted as she looked over the panel and the transmission went dead.

"Khan they're entering warp… They're fleeing."

"Cowards…"

"I suggest we enter warp as well."

"Enter warp."

"Aye." She said. "Coordinates set, entering warp." She felt the pull and smiled when all reading said there had entered full warp. "This thing moves fast…" She felt Khan walk to her side and watched as he engaged auto pilot.

"Auto pilot engaged." The computer spoke. Silence settled over them for a long moment.

"You hesitated." Arias jaw clenched.

"Sorry… Everything they had done just… Went through my mind all at once, I couldn't seem to focus on the task at hand…" She said standing. "I won't hesitate again."

"I wasn't scolding you." He said. "I'm quite impressed with your battle techniques."

"Shouldn't be, I am a battle expert." She said with a cheeky smile. "Alright I'm heading to medical bay to disconnect the medibots. Knowing Bones he'll think of a way to hack into the systems…"

"Ariadne?"

"Yeah?" She asked turning to look at him.

"You're doing the right thing…" She smiled softly before looking off.

"I know…" She said before turning and walking off.

-o-

"She fired torpedoes at us…" Kirk said his jaw clenching.

"Well… She was tortured for however long…" Scotty said trying to stick up for the daughter of his fallen friend.

"She hesitated…" Kirk said.

"She did indeed."

"It doesn't dismiss the fact that she did still fire at us Captain." Spock stated.

"You know I'm rarely with Khan but, the pointy eared bastard has a point." McCoy said.

"Why do you always go for the ears?" Spock inquired and Kirk just smiled as he looked off to the side.

"Look Kirk I have an idea." McCoy said. "I already have Checky working on it."

"What's the plan Bones?"

"Well the Dreadnaught Resurrection may have cut off its tracking capabilities… They haven't probably off lined the medibots which keep ship medical records… I think we can hijack one not only track it but also see through its cams what Aria and Khan are up to."

"A well thought out plan Doctor." Spock said with a nod.

"Always the tone of surprise with you." He said.

"How long until it's online?" Kirk asked.

"It's up to Checky, again I say he's working on it now."

"What are we going to do about Aria?" Scotty asked.

"I think we should eliminate her along with Khan." Spock said.

"No… No it isn't her fault he's… I don't know brain washed her or something." Scotty said. "Sir." He turned to Kirk who looked at him with an unsure expression. "She's a sweet girl, she used to beg me to let her paint my nails for Christ sakes… I don't know what he's done to her but, this isn't her."

"Scotty, she was tied down to a bed and put through the painful process of giving me transfusion after transfusion, then when it was all done she was taken to a facility and tortured for a month… This is her now…"

"We-I can get her back sir… I'm sure of it." Scotty said.

"First we have to establish contact." Kirk said. "I want to focus on something Khan said… He said that we killed his race, I think he still doesn't know that they were kept safe aboard the Enterprise and later taken where ever they were taken."

"If they did what they did to Aria who knows what they did to those people in the tubes." McCoy stated. "Spock may have not killed them, but the Federation could have…"

"They did pass the law stating instant execution without trial to Augements who are involved with Terrorism." Kirk said.

"Which is Aria." Spock stated.

"She's not a terrorist!" Scotty said.

"She just helped kill thousands of people… And she did before for that matter… She's a terrorist…" Kirk said his jaw clenching. "We may have to kill her."

"Captain…" Scotty said.

"But I'm going to try and talk to the admiral to see if I can't have some leniency granted… Also I'm going to try and find out what happened to the people in those tubes… maybe if we can prove they aren't dead, Khan will halt his vengeance."

"Doctor?" Chekhov's voice came.

"Here Checky." He said pulling out his communicator.

"Sir I've got the cams up."

"Great." He said with a smile.

"Let's spy shall we?" Kirk said bringing the picture up to the screen in the meeting room they were situated in.

"It's Aria…" Kirk said. "Checky- Chekhov?"

"Aye Captain?"

"Can I communicate to her through this?"

"Aye sir, I'll bring the mike up, and patch you through."

-o-

Aria looked over the Medibot. She was a battle expert not a bot technician. She wasn't sure where to start when it came to taking down its tracking and cam capabilities. Instinct told her to just rip the cam out but she knew she needed to do more. She went to open up the panel in its chest when it made a beeping noise.

"Aria?" she tilted her head. "Aria it's Kirk." She blinked. "Aria can you hear me?"

"Uhm… Yeah…" She said a little confused before she began to try and take down communication. Khan walked in.

"Aria-." He dove behind a pillar realizing what had happened.

"I want nothing to do with you Kirk." She said and Khan smiled.

"I need to talk to you-."

"About what the annihilation of my people, the torture I had to endure? No I don't feel like talking about."

"Aria."

"I don't want to talk to you and in a few seconds I won't." she went to rip out the communicator.

"Lass." Her hand halted as she looked over the bot.

"S-Scotty?" She asked softly.

"Aye Lass it's me… Lass, I'm so sorry." Her jaw clenched. "About it all, but one thing I'm most sorry about is dropping you the way I did on the Dreadnaught vengeance."

"You were under orders by Kirk I understand…" She said softly.

"It doesn't matter, you're like family to me and I betrayed you… I vowed to protect you and I didn't… I'm so sorry Lass." Khan looked at a reflection of Aria in one of the Medical bays metal walls to see her head bowing forward. "I know you're driven now for vengeance, after all you've been through but… Think of Bradshaw… Would Harold want you doing this? Killing innocent people."

"They are not innocent." Aria said her jaw clenching.

"I know what you've been through has-."

"You have no idea what I've been through…" She said her jaw clenching. "They strapped me to a metal table and…" her voice shook as her jaw clenched. "Trust me when I say… They have it coming."

"Lass please, you're treading down a dark path you are. Don't let Khan-."

"Khan saved me." She said quickly as she glared into the bot. "He rescued me, I owe him my life."

"Lass please… He's going down, we have orders to kill him on sight if you're with him you'll die too."

"And I gladly would." She said.

"Why are you so loyal to him-."

"Because… He didn't desert me…" she said her jaw clenching.

"Aria-."

"And I won't desert him… Good bye Scotty."

"Aria please-." She ripped the communicator out pulled the cam and then quickly pulled out the tracker. Khan smiled realizing that finally she was completely on his side. He walked out into the open and watched as Aria sat up. She sensed him.

"They used the bots." She said. "Just like I thought they would."

"I know, I overheard the conversation…" he said walking to her side.

"Aria we are not done talking!" She jumped hearing Scotty's voice coming from another bot. "Now listen here young lady-." She shot the medibot with a Phaser knocking it offline. Khan looked Aria over for a moment to see her jaw clenching as she stared at the peeled over bot. He kneeled at her side for a moment as his hand slowly set on her arm.

"There she is, I want audio on this side quickly." Scotty said wanting to speak to Aria.

"Wait…" Kirk said.

"Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" McCoy asked and Scotty looked to the screen to see Khan kneeling at Arias side his hand on her arm.

"I'm sorry they deserted you…" Khan said and she slowly brought her eyes to his as he cupped her cheek. "You put your faith in them and they slapped you across the face for it…"

"I knew there was a chance Kirk would… But Scotty… He was like family…" She said softly betrayal evident in her eyes.

"I know…" he said and she looked to him.

"You're the only one other than Bradshaw to never desert me… I don't know how you can look at me when I've deserted you so many times."

"You didn't desert me, you were just confused… You're an Augment who was raised by humans and around humans, that's who you identified with." He said looking her over. "It's not your fault you were all alone… I don't blame you for being confused about who you are or whose side you should take."

"I know who I am now and I do know whose side I should stand by… I won't ever go back… I promise."

"I know." He said as he cupped her cheek. Aria looked him over for a long moment before she smiled softly and looked back to the bots.

"Let's get these off line before they come through again."

"I can do it through the computer." Khan said his hand dropping from her cheek as she walked away.

"What the bloody hell was that!" Scotty yelled. "Did you see that!?"

"Looks like Khan is moving in on Aria…" McCoy said.

"He's manipulating her." Kirk said.

"Maybe, but they are of the same race, a race which is near extinction it would not be so rare for them both to develop romantic feelings for one another." Spock said.

"Shut it." Scotty said. "There's no way my god daughter is falling in love with Mr. Augment big fancy hair high cheek bone smoldering eyes perfect head!" The feed went dead and Kirk sat up.

"What the hell?"

"Chekov the feed now!" Spock yelled into the communicator.

"I haf lost it sir."

"Damn it…" Kirk said his jaw clenching.

"But I haf an idea of how to track them."

"What's your plan?" Kirk asked.

"Track the linking system between our ships sir… The one that allows us to share information…"

"That's not half bad…" Kirk said with a smile.

-o-

AN: Alright let's get some reviews! and the next chapter... it's gunna be great. just thought I should let you know...


	9. In the Throes

AN: Dedicated to Zabuzasgirl.

-o-

Aria sat in front of a mirror as she dried her hair. Off the helm of the Dreadnaught resurrection were two living compartments. One for the Captain, and one for the first officer. Khan had offered her the Captains room because it was bigger, but she had declined and taken the first officers. He after all was the Captain and according to him she was his first officer. So in her eyes they should be in their rightful places. She tilted her head as she looked over her reflection as her hair was instantly dried by a wave length ray.

She looked the same as before, but she knew she wasn't the same. She wasn't the sweet naïve girl who first boarded the Enterprise. No. She knew things now. Knew who she was. What she was capable of. More though then ever she realized just how screwed up the world was. How evil the hearts of men could be. Some would call Khan ruthless, and evil, but he never gave up on her, and he never left her to die like so many had. He also hadn't strapped her to a metal table and ripped her teeth out of her mouth or purposefully broke her bones just to hear her scream. She had lied to him. Told him she didn't remember a thing about the white room. In truth she had remembered some, but as of the last few days she had started to remember everything.

"_Little girl if you don't start talking I'm going to do more than just break your bones and rip your teeth out… You're a woman, and there are more ways to break a woman then there are to break a man if you catch my drift…"_

Khan walked into Arias quarters through the air lock doors that separated them. He stopped seeing her sitting in a chair in front of a mirror a Kimono hanging off her shoulders as her red hair lay around her in soft waves. Her calming scent hit him as he looked at her reflection in the mirror before her. Her eyes may have been closed but she wasn't calm. He could tell by how rigid her body was.

"Aria?" she took a deep breath as she jumped before catching his reflection in the mirror.

"Khan…" She laughed. "You snuck up on me."

"The only time people can sneak up on us is when our minds are far away…" he said walking over to her. "Where was your mind?" he asked.

"Nowhere in… Particular." She said getting up the silk kimono moving with her. "Nice touch with the unisex outfit converters. Most first officer quarters don't have those."

"I unlike the federation isn't sexist when it comes to the skill of a first officer." He said as his eyes followed her. "You were somewhere in particular." She looked to him. "I can see you are troubled."

"It's nothing you have to worry about." She said with a soft expression.

"Alright… Good night…"

"Good night Khan." She said as he turned and walked to the air lock doors as a thought entered his mind.

"_I know you're driven now for vengeance, after all you've been through but… Think of Bradshaw… Would Harold want you doing this? Killing innocent people." _

"_They are not innocent." Aria said her jaw clenching._

"_I know what you've been through has-."_

"_You have no idea what I've been through…" She said her jaw clenching. "They strapped me to a metal table and…" her voice shook as her jaw clenched. "Trust me when I say… They have it coming."_

"You have remembered." He said stopping right before the doors.

"What was that?" Aria asked looking up from her vanity.

"You remember what happened to you." He said turning and she looked at him for a long moment. "Back in that white room I saved you from. You remember what happened to you…"

"Just started too…" She said knowing she couldn't lie to him.

"When?"

"A few days ago…"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Well we've been a bit busy Khan…" She said with a smile trying to change the subject.

"Do you remember who did this to you?" he asked walking to her.

"No." she said and he stopped.

"You don't-."

"No I mean we're not going after him." She said. "We have more important things to do then my personal vendetta, like building our race back up to par."

"You want me to let this lie?" He asked.

"Yes." She said.

"He strapped you to a table…" he said is anger rising to his chest. "When I found you, your teeth were lined up next to you in a row, you were near depleted of blood and every bone in your body was broken… When I picked you up off that table you broke like glass in my arms." Her jaw clenched as she looked off. "And you want me to let it lie?" He shook his head. "Well I won't… Who did this to you?"

"I'm not going to tell you that." She said looking to him and Khan tilted his head. It was the first time in a long time she had seen him look just as devious as he did that first time they met on Kronos.

"You will tell me." He said walking to her.

"There are more important things-."

"No there aren't."

"Khan-."

"Who did this to you?"

"Look there's nothing you can do-."

"I can do to him exactly what he did to you and shoot him up with my blood so he doesn't die in the process so I can do it all over again."

"No I mean… I don't know his name he never told me…" She said. "And in all honesty I still don't remember what he looks like."

"So it was one person?"

"I think… I can't be sure…" she said turning away. "Can we not talk about this anymore? I'd rather just move on…" He went to say something but stopped seeing his error. He was being insensitive. She had been tortured for over a month, it was probably something she didn't want to speak about.

"Are you alright?" he asked not being able to stop himself.

"Fine…" She said looking to him. Khan looked at her for a long moment before walking to her slowly.

"No you're not…" He said.

"It's nothing you don't have to-."

"Yes it is."

"I'm fit for duty."

"This isn't about you being fit for duty I saw today you were during the battle. This is about how you are."

"I'm o-."

"Don't say you're okay when you're not." She smiled softly.

"I'm seeing a new side to you…" she said looking him over. "And I don't know how to handle it…"

"This is a side of you I have seen… You changing a subject with a witty remark… It means there is something bothering you."

"Why do you want to know so bad?"

"Because I like to know when something is bothering you…"

"Why?"

"Because as we've established recently… I…" his jaw clenched. "Care about you."

"Why do you always look so angry when you say that?" She asked with an amused look.

"Ariadne…" he said cupping her cheek. "What's wrong?" her expression grew soft. "Tell me... Please…"

"I don't know… I just… I keep thinking I'm going to close my eyes and when I open them up I'm going to be in that white room again…" She said her jaw clenching and instantly he knew it was hard for her to admit such a thing. "Sometimes I think you never found me…"

"Well I did…" His hand slid down from her cheek to rest on the crook of her neck. "You're not in that white room…" She slowly nodded and he could tell she didn't believe him. He set both his hands on her bare shoulders as he locked eyes with hers. "Ariadne… You're not in the white room…" She slowly nodded as she took a shaking breath. "I did find you… I promise."

"Okay…" she said softly and he moved forward as he cupped her cheek.

"No one is ever going to hurt you like that again…" He said.

"No their not because if they try I'm going to rip their spines from their bodies and crush their skulls with my bare hands." He smiled as his thumb brushed over her cheek. He moved forward and Aria took a breath as she moved back slightly. "What are you doing?" She asked softly. He looked at her for a long moment before he moved forward once more. "Khan." She said as his hand moved to the back of her neck. She looked at him for a long moment, his eyes staring into hers as his thumb brushed under her jaw line. He slowly moved forward and Aria found that she wasn't moving back. Her eyes drifted closed as his mouth moved against hers in a slow heated kiss. Her hands slid down his chest to rest on his hips as she relished in every moment.

Khan ran his fingers through Aria's hair as his arm wrapped around her waist bringing her close to his body. She had been pressed up against him many times. During fights, during close forced conversations, during hiding out in tight spaces, all those times they had been right up against one another and it had never been like this. There was an electricity that shot between them now, and he found it intoxicating. He pulled back and Aria slowly opened up her eyes and looked to Khan with a soft expression. He cupped her cheek as his thumb brushed across her bottom lip.

"This complicates things…" she said softly.

"No… No I think it makes things easier…" he said moving forward and kissing her deeply. She sighed into his mouth as he lifted her up onto her vanity and sat her down. There was something about Aria, a pull that he couldn't deny. He had wanted to do this ever since back on the Enterprise, though he couldn't pin point exactly when he had grown so physically attracted to her. He reached for the tie of her Kimono and stopped as Aria took his hands in hers stopping him. She smiled as she looked up at him.

"I know that you've probably done this before…" He kissed her. "But I haven't…" he looked her over. It surprised him. She was a beautiful powerful and alluring woman, how could no man have breached her before?

"Never?" he asked.

"Don't look so shocked…" She said shifting. "I was taught that everyone around me even grown men were weaker-."

"Which they are." He said as he pushed her hair behind her ear. "I see… You were worried you'd break them… Hurt them…" She nodded. "It's probably good you didn't, it's a high possibility you would have…" His hands moved forward to undress her before stopping. Her eyes opened and she looked to him as he cupped her cheek.

"What is it?" she asked.

"You're hesitant." He said looking her over.

"I just… I don't want to move too fast…"

"You're right… I should court you."

"Court?" she asked as he walked away.

"Yes court I should win your affections…" He said waking in through the door that separated their quarters. Aria took a deep breath as her hand went to her heart. It was flying. Not from the kiss or his hands nearly undressing her body but because of what she was about to do.

Khan took a deep breath as he shrugged out of his shirt. He hadn't expected to kiss her, he had expected it to happen at some point. But not this night. He didn't regret it of course, not when it had been so enthralling. There was a pull to her, to her lips. To her eyes. To her body. He couldn't deny it. Even now he could feel it. All he wanted to do was turn around and walk through that door and do what he so desperately wanted to do. He heard the door open and slowly turned to see Aria walking inside.

"You've uhm…" She smiled shyly. "You've already won my affections." He watched as she slowly untied her kimono. Aria took a deep breath as he slowly walked towards her. As she dropped the robe around her body Khan stopped taking an unneeded breath as he took in her body inch by glorious porcelain inch. Aria stood there under his gaze for a long moment still holding onto her kimono which nearly lay at her feet. With every second that passed she got more and more self-conscious. She went to bring the Kimono back over her body but stopped when Khan reached out and set his hand on her hips. She slowly let go of the kimono and stared at his muscular chest, feeling for the first time in her life, completely vulnerable.

Khan took another breath. She was more beautiful than he could imagine. Statuesque, with soft curves, toned muscles and ample breasts. Her skin was as white as freshly fallen snow which stood out against her ruby hair which lay around her in soft waves. He slowly brought his eyes to her beautiful green ones to find they didn't meet his. He could hear it. Her heart beat. It was flying, faster than he had ever heard it beat. He knew it wasn't fear, after all. Aria feared nothing. No this was exhilaration and he knew just how she felt. He titled her chin up causing her eyes to slowly meet his. She looked so innocent in that moment, and he found it incredibly alluring.

"What happens now?" she asked softly. He lifted her up into his arms and she instantly wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her effortlessly over to the bed. He kissed her deeply as he laid her back down on the bed her hands instantly going to his chest.

She couldn't believe this was happening. In all honesty for her whole life or at least when she realized what sex was she never thought she'd have it. Never thought she'd find anyone who could take it. She certainly never thought she'd find someone who was her kind who was meant to be with her.

"Where are you?" he asked kissing her neck as his hand trailed up her thigh.

"I'm here…" she said softly her eyes drifting close as she felt him sink his fingers deep into her. He smiled against her neck when he heard a soft moan escape her. He knew in that moment he would live for that noise. He cupped her cheek as his mouth crashed against hers. Her hand gingerly went to his cheek as her other hand trailed up his muscular back.

"Take a breath." He said his lips brushing against hers as he spoke. Her eyes slowly opened feeling him pressing against her most intimate spot. "Take a breath." He said again. She set her hands on his shoulders as she took a deep breath. Her eyes drifted closed as he kissed her and slowly sunk into body inch by inch. Aria took a shaky breath readying for what was to come. She gasped as she felt a sharp pain pop deep within her. As soon as the pain came it was gone by an immense amount of pleasure. Her back arched as she let out a soft moan.

Khan kissed her neck as she tilted her head back and he moved into her over and over again. As he felt the pleasure build deep within himself he let his eyes take her in. The way her breasts and face flushed beautifully with ecstasy. The sight of it excited him more than any battle ever could.

"Khan…" She moaned and he knew in that moment he was hooked. His name had never sounded so exhilarating as it did from her lips in the heat of passion.

Aria arched against him as she gripped onto his shoulders. She could feel it a wave of pleasure forming from deep within her. Khan pushed her arms above her head as he continued to burry himself deep within her. Every time he moved into her she let out a hot sweet moan, one he wanted to hear over and over again. He could feel himself nearing the edge, and could feel her nearing the edge. His eyes opened as he kissed her deeply. He could feel her. Not just physically but somewhere deep within himself he could feel her energy melding with his. He smiled instantly realizing what was happening. They were connecting. He moaned himself as his arms wrapped around her body.

Arias head threw back. What she was feeling was nothing like she had expected. There was an intensity. One that was mixing with the pleasure. It was overwhelming. Her temperature was rising. Her heart was flying. Her breathing was rushed. In some ways she was scared, in other ways she was completely exhilarated.

"Khan…"

"I know…" he said and she took a deep breath as she felt him sink into her. Not physically, it was like his energy was melding with hers. She was becoming him, he was becoming her, at this point she didn't know where she began and he ended. "Let it happen…" he said their bodies moving perfectly together.

"It's too much…" She moaned her hands gripping on to his shoulders.

"Let me in don't fight it." He couldn't reach his own pleasure without her reaching hers and the buildup was becoming unbearable. "Let me in…" he said feeling her fighting it. "Ariadne…" at his deep voice speaking her true name a wave of pleasure slammed into her over and over again. Khan held onto her tightly as he felt her pleasure mix with his own and a primal growl erupted from his chest. His head fell into the crook of her shoulder as the greatest calm he had ever felt washed over him completely. Aria took a deep shaking breath as Khan lifted his head and looked her over.

"What was that?" she asked softly her fingers resting on his cheek as she stared up at him with her large emerald eyes.

"We became one… In every sense of the word." He said kissing her on the forehead.

"I could… Feel you… I was you…"

"I was you…" he said kissing her deeply.

"Does that happen every time? With everyone who is an augment?"

"No." he said as he pushed a strand of red hair from her eyes.

"No?" she asked.

"It's a connection, a rare one, meant for Augments who were meant to be with one another… It binds us to one another…" he looked her over with an expression she couldn't read. "It took me over three hundred years to find you. My perfect woman."

"Who says I'll be yours?" she asked with a smile.

"Always giving me such hell." He said before kissing her deeply. He pulled away and looked her over as he cupped her cheek. "Will you be mine Ariadne?"

"Will you be mine?"

"I could never deny you." She smiled softly.

She moved forward and kissed him deeply. She pushed on his shoulders and rolled him onto his back his arms encircling her as he did. She smiled as she laid her head on his chest.

"You know when we first met on Kronos I never expected this to happen… Well that's not true I thought about seducing you and taking your head off in the throes of passion but that's when we were mortal enemies and I was bent on ripping out your still beating heart."

"That admission turned me on more than it should have." She smiled. "Still I think you should know…" she looked to him. "You were never my enemy Ariadne." She looked him over.

"I know…" She rested her chin on his chest. "I'm sorry I ever thought you were."

"It's in the past." Her eyes closed for a moment. "You can sleep if you want. I most likely will."

"Do you want me to leave?"

"I don't want you to." She slowly nodded with a smile.

"Good night Khan."

"Good night Aria…"

-o-

Aria smiled as she looked over the panel of the helm. They were nearly to their destination. Readying to set up a planet to re raise their race. Still she couldn't keep her mind off last night. Her body was still buzzing from it. Khan wasn't anything like she had thought the first time she had come into contact with him. At first she had thought him cruel, unmerciful, and arrogant. Now though she had seen, felt, another side. There was something very deep to him. Very kind, sensual, and powerful. Any cruelty and arrogance he had was only towards those who truly deserved it. She saw that fact now and she was thankful she did.

"How are we looking?" Khan asked coming onto the bridge.

"Good but I should warn you there are signs of life."

"Bring up the scans." She nodded doing as he said. Khan looked them over for a moment.

"Only a few if they cause us problems we'll take them out." She nodded.

"Still I think it wise to set down on the other side of the planet. The conditions there are better anyways for landing."

"Set down there then."

"Aye." She said sitting down in the pilots chair. "Entering atmosphere…" Khan walked over and sat in one of the pilots chairs.

"We'll dock this together…" She nodded switching over controls so he could take lead.

-o-

Kirk sat in his Captains chair his eyes staring forward at the vast universe ahead. The ship was on Autopilot with minimal crew. He had asked everyone to leave the bridge. He needed to think. Needed to decide what he was going to do. He heard a noise and looked over his shoulder to see Scotty.

"Hey Scotty…" he greeted before returning to his thinking.

"Wee Aria keeping you up as well?"

"Yeah…" Scotty walked to the side of his captain.

"I can't stop thinking about the funereal."

"Aye neither can I… So many people were there… I never knew Aria had known so many people, or that so many people loved her."

"She's a good kid…" Kirk said. "And I turned on her, deserted her, and drove her into the arms of my mortal enemy." Scotty looked him over. "I keep thinking over it all and I see all my errors and I saw them then but I couldn't stop myself from making them… She was nothing but loyal to me and I spat on that loyalty because of something she had no control over… She didn't choose to be Augment… In some ways I could see that she desperately didn't want to be an Augment… Still I couldn't stop myself from making her feel isolated."

"Do you think that was Khans plan all along upon seeing her?" Scotty asked. "When he realized that she was like him?" Kirk looking to him. "I've looked over the brig footage and he played it sir."

"I know… But I let him, I made it easy. This falls on me. Anyways I want to show you something. Bring up archive footage of Docking of near demolished ship Enterprise."

"Bringing up footage." The ship said.

"Remember how Spock took the bodies out of the torpedoes?"

"Aye smart move it was." He said.

"Well I was injured and so were many others so when we docked the ship for repairs and for immediate medical attention no one was paying attention to what happened to Khans crew except the cameras… They were taken away see." They watched as tube by tube was taken from the ship.

"Any idea where they were taken?"

"No idea the tracking just ends which makes me think the federation killed them after seeing how dangerous they could become upon waking up." Kirk said.

"They killed the crew?"

"Yes… A crew who was innocent but just following orders of Khan."

"Like Aria is now…" Kirk looked to him.

"Yeah." He said.

"Sir Aria is a passionate person…" Scotty began. "If she's fallen for Khan I can't guarantee-."

"I don't think she has."

"Your meaning?"

"I've been looking over the footage of our conversation with her today through the medibots." He brought up the footage and moved it forward before pausing it. "See there." Kirk walked over and pointed behind a distressed looking Aria.

"It's Khan… Listening into everything she's saying…" Scotty looked it over.

"He may have saved her from where ever she was but… Maybe now he's keeping her against her will."

"If we show this to Admiral King and we can get the truth out of her then they may grant her leniency."

"Or they'll take her away and torture her like they did before… I just… I don't know what to do…"

"You'll figure it out Captain you always do…"

-o-

"How's it looking?" she asked standing beside the captain's chair. Khan had requested she stay behind with the ship while he took a shuttle for planetoid exploration.

"I'm getting many samples for further testing but so far it looks like this planet will suffice."

"Good, any trouble so far?"

"None."

"Excellent…" she ran a scan of the planets life.

"So far whatever life is on the planet has yet noticed our location as of yet."

"Good."

"Any animals?"

"A few."

"Good for the slaughter?"

"Possibly I've taken some blood samples… The hard part will be making our base of command completely self-sustaining, while being completely off grid…"

"I'm sure we'll manage to pull it off. Any places good for settlement?"

"It looks like we'll have to stay aboard the ship until we can build which will be sometime for now if we're focusing on re populating our race."

"Which we need to talk about when you get back and discuss the plan."

"I'm heading back now." He said.

"Good see you soon…" She said with a smile.

"Khan out."

"Resurrection out." She said starting radio silence. She stood by the chair for a long moment before moving forward to a control panel. She had some work to do, things to research. As she moved through the information on the Dreadnaught server she came across something alarming. It seemed that the Dreadnaught ships were on a linking system. They shared information. About everything.

She quickly ran her fingers over the controls and her jaw clenched seeing that the Enterprise had used this to track them. She quickly looked to see if their location had actually been pinpointed and smiled when she saw it hadn't. She went to break off the linking system but stopped seeing the files upon files of information.

"Well… I can't miss out on this opportunity." She said with a sly smile as she began to download everything in the system.

"Authorization code needed." The computer said.

"Silas 2681210."

"Code accepted. Downloading."

"What are you downloading?" She turned to see Khan walking in.

"Were you aware the ship was on a linking system?"

"No." he said.

"Well the Dreadnaught Enterprise was. They've been using it to try and track us, I've cut off tracking and am now downloading all the information shared before cutting off the linking system."

"Good thinking." He said.

"Download complete." The ship announced.

"Excellent and now to cut off the linking system…" She said to herself as her fingers quickly moved over the panel. "Link severed."

"Excellent work." He said seeing all the new information they had.

"So the plan." She said leaning against the panel and looking him over.

"The plan?"

"About us rebuilding our race."

"Right well I want to find the others." He said.

"Others?" she asked.

"You said you once saw information on 32 stolen Embryos." He said. "You believing you were one of those stolen Embryos."

"Yes."

"We need to locate the others see if anyone else has been brought to term such as yourself and get them on our side." He said.

"You think I haven't looked?" she asked. "Khan I stayed hidden for years and when I no longer was hidden you saw what happened, if they don't want to be found they don't want to be found." He nodded. "I think we should proceed with the stealing of Human Embryos for Genetic mutation in test tubes."

"Agreed, and later we maybe look for whoever else may have come to term from the 32 embryos."

"Agreed as well." She said. "I've looked into some places for the Embryos." She said bringing up the Info. "We could beam inside take what we need and beam back easy as cake…" She looked up in thought. "That expression never made sense to me." She said looking to him. "Have you ever tried baking a cake?" she asked. "It's actually really hard. No?" she asked. "Never baked?" she inquired. "Not even box mix?" he scowled and she smiled she did love giving him hell. "So what do you think?"

"About the cake or the embryos?" she smiled he had his own type of humor, a dry one she enjoyed.

"Of course I was taking about the cake that's the most important thing." She looked to see a ghost of a smile on his face. "No the Embryos."

"I think it' a good plan, I'll look into all possible banks and choose the best one. Now come on we have samples to look over, I want things getting ready and going before we start stealing what we need."

"I hate having to steal, it's not very honorable."

"But rebuilding our race is." He said and she nodded. "Will you help me test the samples?"

"Sure but I should warn you there's a reason I was a battle expert and not a medical expert." She said as she followed him to the turbo lift.

"Typical of our race." He said.

"Your meaning?" She asked looking to him.

"We all have our specialties… Battle, science, even cooking."

"Hence why I'm terrible at cooking." She said looking off in thought as the turbo lift doors opened and they walked out. "There's still so much I have to learn about being an augment."

"Whatever questions you have feel free to ask." He said and she nodded as they entered the medical bay.

"Alright baby making how does it work?" She asked and his back overly straightened as he sat down with her at one of the tables.

"Uhm…"

"Relax I was kidding." She said with a smile and he did as well.

"You must have some questions though."

"I'm sure I'll think of a few in the future for right now I'm just enjoying now." She said as she got some test tubes ready. Khan smiled as he watched her, she had really come into her own, and he was thankful for it.

-o-

Watching Khan do science was like watching art in motion. His hands moved in precise circles. His fingers glided over medical instruments. She felt like she wasn't much help though. She would hand him things from time to time, but he was doing most of the work. She really was useless when it came to scientific properties not pertaining to weapons battles or ships. A beep sounded and she looked up.

"Can you read me the test results?" he asked finishing up his last test tube of soil samples. She walked over to the panel and smiled.

"Soil samples in region 1,2,3, and 4 are more than adequate for produce. Water samples 1,2,3,4, and 5, were all clear of germs and is suitable to drink. Oxygen levels are holding. Moisture is a little high but livable. Blood samples of the animals reveal that they are good to eat if need be and suitable to breed." Khan smiled as he sat back in his chair.

"Well Ariadne I think we found our planet."

"We should name it." She said with a smile turning to look to him. "How about Khanland?"

"No that's terrible…" she smiled and he looked to her. "You were joking."

"You're catching on." She said with a smile as she walked to him. "We should name it though… Obviously the name will not be known to anyone else but at least we'll know it and claim it." She said leaning against the table.

"Vaquitas." He said and she smiled.

"Latin for Freedom…" she said with a smile as she looked up in thought. "Planet… Vaquitas… I like it." She looked to him with a warm expression. Khan tilted his head as he looked her over for a long moment.

"Come here…" She smiled as she walked around the table to him. He set his hand on her hips as he cupped her cheek his thumb brushing over it as he did.

"What is it?" she asked softly.

"You are so dangerous." He mused aloud and she laughed.

"Just what every woman wants to hear."

"I just mean… You're so beautiful and innocent looking but… Dangerous… You wouldn't know it by looking at you."

"Well you certainly didn't know it those first few seconds on Kronos."

"No I didn't." he said with a smile. She moved forward and kissed him before walking away. "Where are you going?" He asked turning to watch her.

"I have to do some normal maintenance in the weapons bay."

"Do you want help?" he asked.

"Oh no I've got it besides you have to look over the Embryo banks and see which one you think will be the best for augment candidates."

"I'll see you on the bridge?"

"I may be a bit late but if you're still up you will." She said with a smile as she entered the turbo lift.

-o-

"So what happened?" Kirk asked looking at Chekov who was shifting uncomfortably under his gaze.

"I lost contact…" he said. "The trace… I lost it sir."

"How did you lose it?" Kirk asked.

"Either Khan or Aria-."

"God damn it!" He yelled making the young man before him jump.

"I'm sorry sir, I did try, and if it helps we haf their location down to a solar system…"

"A whole solar system so somewhere in a whole freaking solar system Aria and Khan are hiding out!? Does that sound easy to find!?"

"The laddie tried his best sir." Scotty said.

"Who the hell knows what Khan is up to… Or how many people are going to die from his plan… Or if Aria is safe in his clutches…"

"I know, we'll find another way." Scotty said.

"I haf some other things I vwant to try sir…" Chekhov said.

"Well try it and keep me posted in the mean-time we're going to head to that solar system and start looking the slow old fashioned way…"


	10. Back to Back Battle

Khan looked through the new information Aria had downloaded from the linking system before she had cut off ties. The information ranged from archive footage, audio bites, to scans of paperwork. He was waiting for Aria to come up for air from the weapons bay, but he knew to her it was a playground one she wouldn't leave for another ten hours. He tilted his head coming across a strange file name.

"White room…" he read and he tilted his head seeing it was attached to the file on him.

_It can't be that white room… Would they really take footage?_

"Bring footage to screen…" he said.

"Bringing archive footage white room to screen." The ship said back.

"_Hello?" _His jaw clenched hearing Arias voice coming from a pure black image_. _The lights flickered and his eyes narrowed seeing Aria strapped to a metal table in the pure ivory room. He watched as a tall lean young man walked in with white blonde hair down to his shoulders.

"_Sleeping beauty awakes…" _The man said.

"_Where am I?" _she asked.

"_I'll be asking the questions Miss Adne…" _the man looked her over with a near trivial expression._ "You look so normal…" _he muttered_. _

"_I am normal…" _Aria said softly.

"_Please don't talk out of turn Miss Adne." _He said with a fierce look. She slowly looked to him._ "Now let me explain to you what's happening." _He said as two bots wheeled in a cart with a black box on it._ "My name is none of your concern, and your name is no longer Aria Adne, it's prisoner 5469." _Her jaw clenched._ "I'm going to ask you questions and you are going to answer them." _He opened the box and Khan sat up seeing a range of weapons sitting inside.

"_If you don't answer me or you say something I don't like this will happen." _He took out a hammer and Aria screamed as he slammed it down onto her fingers. Khans eyes narrowed in on the man as his hands clutched onto the arms of his chair._ "Shh Shh Shh… You'll heal… Maybe not as quickly as normally thanks to the blood we're continuing to take…" _

"_You mother fucker." _He slammed the hammer back down on her hand and her jaw clenched as she made a pained noise, but refused to outright scream.

"_I told you not to talk out of turn… Now…" _He looked her over as he waved the silver hammer in front of her face._ "Where is Khan?" _

"_I don't know." _

"_I believe you…" _he said as he tilted his head before slamming the hammer down on her mangled fingers once more.

"_I thought you said you believed me!" _She yelled.

"_Oh I did, but I also told you I'd hurt you if I didn't like your answer, and I didn't like that answer…" _He said as he walked around the table._ "Oh and once more." _He slammed the hammer down onto her ankle and she screamed as she felt it shatter._ "Don't talk out of turn!" _He yelled over the sounds of her pain before smiling softly. _"What is Khans plans?" Her jaw clenched. "What are Khans plans?" _She continued to stay silent and He slammed the hammer across her toes. Her eyes shut tightly as her head threw back in obvious pain_. "Not talking will not spare you from punishment!" _

"_I'm not telling you a fucking thing." _She said through gritted teeth. He rushed around the side and placed the hammer against her cheek as she shook.

"She should have told them…" He said softly as he watched in horror.

"_We shall see." _He pulled back the hammer and slammed it into the side of her face as her head threw back in a silent scream._ "We shall see…"_

"Stop archive footage." He said averting his eyes no longer being able to watch. "Computer do facial search on the man in archive footage."

"Commencing search…" his jaw clenched as he took the archive footage down. "Commencing search… Commencing sear found… Man in Archive footage Captain Gabriel Till of the USS Memorial. Recently demounted from his position as Admiral… Reason unknown."

"I bet I know the reason." He said with a smile knowing that having Aria escape probably got the man in a lot of trouble with his superiors. He didn't know how to bring up what he had found out to Aria. He knew she was trying to deal with things on her own. Still he couldn't hide it from her. He slowly got up and headed out of the bridge to the turbo lift. It only took seconds for him to get down to the weapons bay. He walked out into the open and looked all around to see no Aria in sight. He heard a clinking and walked to follow the noise. He passed by row after row of weapons before stopping to see Aria standing at a table taking apart a hand cannon ray. She lifted up the plasma device as she walked over to a light and looked it over.

"Found you…" She said with a smirk.

"Found you." She smiled as she turned and looked to Khan. After seeing what he had seen he wasn't sure how she was still able to smile.

"Hey." She greeted.

"What are you doing?"

"I was testing out the hand helds and found that the aiming was off on this hand cannon ray… But no worries I've found the problem…" she said walking back over to the table. "What are you doing down here?"

"I came to see you it's been ten hours and it's getting late." He said

"Has it already been that long?" she asked and he nodded. "Well time flies when you're taking apart large long range weapons." He watched as she quickly put together the weapon again and turned simulating a fire. She smiled as she nodded before putting the huge weapons up on its hanger. "All fixed." She grabbed a rag and wiped her hands off as she turned to look at him. "What's wrong?" she asked after a moment.

"I was…" he set his hand on the table as he stared down at it. "I was looking through some of the new information you downloaded from the linking system." He looked to her.

"Yeah did you find anything useful?" she asked.

"I found a file on me."

"Makes sense." She said with a smile unsure of what he was getting at.

"With that file was some archive footage labelled… White room." Her jaw clenched.

"My white room?" she asked and he nodded. "Khan…" she walked to him slowly. "You didn't watch it did you?" he looked at her for a long moment. "God damn it." She threw the rag on the table. "Why would you watch it!?"

"I wanted to make sure it was you."

"How much of it did you watch?"

"A couple minutes…"

"You couldn't tell it was me after a couple minutes?" she asked.

"You're angry."

"Yes I'm angry I didn't want you to see that…" she said.

"I saw the aftermath why would it be so different for me to see what happened during?"

"Because… I…" Her jaw clenched. "Never mind." She turned and walked away.

"Ariadne." He said following her.

"Just leave me alone."

"No." he took her hand and reeled her around. "Why does it matter if I saw it?"

"Because… It's private." She said her jaw clenching. "Because… I screamed in pain, and begged for my life, and I never wanted you to know it. I wanted you to think I had been brave through the whole thing." He cupped her cheek and she slowly raised her eyes to his.

"You were brave. I saw that. I also saw how you never gave up anything you knew about despite the agony you were in… Despite the pain you gave up nothing and that is brave Aria… I'm sorry I watched it, it was private and I shouldn't have but I wanted to know who did this to you."

"You found out?" she asked and he nodded.

"His name is Gabriel Till… He captains a ship called the USS Memorial…"

"No… No I know that look."

"I want to go after him."

"No." she said.

"Aria, he needs to pay-."

"And he will after we get our race up and going again there are more important things."

"Why do you keep saying that?" he asked.

"Khan absolutely not. It doesn't matter, it's not that big a deal."

"Don't tell me it's not that big a deal." He said. "Now that I've seen and I know what he did to you I can't let it lie!"

"Well you're going to have to I don't need you to seek my vengeance!"

"Clearly I do because you won't seek it for yourself." Her jaw clenched and she turned before storming off. "Well done Khan…" he muttered to himself.

-o-

Arias jaw clenched as she sat at the desk in her quarters. It had been a few hours since her fight with Khan and she was still angry, though why she wasn't sure. She knew she was upset that he had watched the footage, but for some reason that wasn't what was making her really angry. It was his final comment.

"_Clearly I do because you won't seek it for yourself…"_

It had risen within her a deep realization. The reason why she wouldn't go after the man who had tortured her was because in all honesty she was scared of him. She couldn't tell Khan that. She couldn't tell the strong new world leading man that she was scared of some normal human being. Still every time she thought of the man in the white room her heart would pound, panic would rise, and a shiver would fly up her spine. She was terrified of him. Terrified that if she ever came in contact with him she would go right back to the white room. Still she wanted nothing more than to strap the man down to a table and do everything to him that he did to her.

Aria took a breath as she felt Khans presence. He wasn't in her room. No, she could feel him standing at the door that separated their living quarters. He was contemplating walking in. She knew in that moment she wanted him to. She wasn't that angry with him after all. The air locked door opened with a hiss and she sat up feeling him slowly walking into her room.

"I am sorry." She was surprised he had said it.

"Its fine I'm angry with myself not you." He tilted his head before walking up behind her. He looked over the panel of her desk to see the face of the man who had tortured her. "I've found out everything about him… I know where he was born… What his father did for a living… his grades throughout school… Even where his ship is right now… I know all this and I find it useless because you're right I can't seem to bring myself to seek vengeance against him… I can't and I don't know why because he… Broke my bones… pulled my teeth… Stuck needles deep under my nails… Put poison into my veins that made me feel like I was on fire… He also lit me on fire…" Khans jaw clenched. "He did all this to me and I can't… I can't bring myself to kill him because I'm… Terrified of him." Khan knelt at her side.

"Then let me do this for you." He said setting a hand over hers.

"I should do it myself…"

"You will…" he said looking her over. "Let me capture him bring him here where you can end it."

"No."

"Ariadne…"

"I want to do it myself." She said looking to him. "I have to do it myself… I have to face the fear…" he cupped her cheek. "I just need a few days to prepare."

"I'm coming with."

"No-."

"It's not a request…" She slowly nodded. "Good… Just one other thing."

"You want a go at him."

"Yes."

"Just don't kill him I want that pleasure." He nodded as his thumb brushed over her cheek. "I'm sorry I stormed off."

"I'm sorry I watched the footage, I should have asked you first."

"I would have said no and then we would have never found out who did this to me… So thank you for watching it." He slowly nodded as he let his eyes roam over her.

"You look tired."

"Just what every woman likes to hear." She said with a smile.

"What would you like to hear?" he asked and she smiled slyly as she looked off her hands going to his shoulders.

"Come to bed with me…" He moved forward and kissed her deeply while lifting her up into his arms.

"Come to bed with me…" he said already carrying her to his living quarters as he kissed her passionately.

"Wait." She said pulling back slightly.

"What is it?" She jumped out of his arms and ran from his room onto the bridge. "What's going on?" he asked following her.

"I put up an alarm." She said and he could now hear the beeping. "To tell us if the other life forms had realized our location and had come to check us out, they've come…" She said looking it over. She pulled up the scan. "Khan there are way more than before… We have an insurgence…" Her jaw clenched. "Klingons…" Khan looked over the scans.

"Do you have a battle plan?"

"You take an advance shuttle from the shuttle bay…" She said as she cloaked the ship from sight and they ran to the turbo lift. "I don't want to risk hull damage to the Dreadnaught if I can help it."

"Agreed." They got to the shuttle bay and Khan ran out. When he didn't feel Aria fallowing him he turned and grabbed onto the turbo lift door.

"Khan what are you doing?"

"What are you doing?" She smiled.

"I'm a battle expert I'm going to battle." She said with a smile.

"No-."

"Khan they're coming from the ground and in the air, now I've seen you in shuttle combat and you are unmatched not to me of course but you come close." She said with a wicked look. "Hand to hand is my thing and you know it."

"It's more dangerous."

"I'll be fine. Now let go of the door." His jaw clenched as he stared at her. Aria smiled softly before moving forward and kissing him deeply. "I'll see you afterwards." She made his hand let go and before he could reach for the door it closed on him.

"Damn it…" he said before running to one of the shuttles.

As Aria ran through the weapons bay she grabbed any weapon in sight. She strapped throwing ectro knives to her thighs before hitting a code on an air lock. It opened and she smiled seeing a group of Klingons staring confused down at their scanners obviously unable to see the ship because of the cloaking device.

"Yeah… It's here." They turned to her and she shot them all down with a plasma ray before jumping out of the air lock and closing it up.

"_Aria check in."_ she heard Khans voice.

"Aria checking in you up in the air yet?"

"_I am."_ She looked up and watched as he shot down a Klingon war bird before racing forward towards another.

Khan looked down into the trees trying to spot Aria while he simultaneously fought the war birds. But he could not see her through the thick branches or vast leaves. He could hear her battling though over the com. She had rushed breaths and every now and then she'd yell and he'd hear a scream of pain from one of the Klingons. He shot down three war birds and quickly did a scan to see if there were any left.

"Aria location." He said hearing her in the thick of it. "Aria-."

"_I'm a bit… Busy!" _

"Computer scan for crew member using Com link."

"Scanning… Scanning… Found…" He followed the internal gps to her location and landed the shuttle. He stared as a Klingon slammed into the window of the shuttle bloody and dead. He quickly ran out the back of the shuttle and came around before freezing. Laying out in the open were over fifty dead Klingons. He looked up to see Aria in hand to hand with three of the surviving race.

She slammed a knife into one of their necks before getting down to her knees and slamming her fists across its legs shattering them. A Klingon raised an ax and tried to bring it down on her. She rolled out of the way before flipping onto her feet and grabbed a hold of the ax before kicking the Klingon a good thirty feet back. She twirled the ax every which way before slamming it down on the Klingons foot and with one hand snapping it's neck clear around. Before the last of the Klingons could rush at her she threw the ax which slammed into its head killing it instantly. She took a deep breath as she stared down at the bodies before slowly turning and looking to him.

"Told you I'd be okay." He smiled before a plasma ray came out of nowhere and shot her down.

"No!" He yelled seeing a group of Klingons come out of nowhere.

"That was rude…" Aria said as Khan helped her to her feet.

"You're bleeding." He said seeing her side.

"I'm also healing…" she said with a smile as she pulled out knife out of knife from her thigh and threw them at the Klingons rushing at him. "Now come on… Let's battle!" She said running forward. Khan smiled as he joined her. It had been a long time since he had, had a good hand to hand battle and gotten to relish in it.

He and Aria backed themselves up against another. If one failed to see a hit coming the other stopped it. Aria was extraordinary in hand to hand. Hardly ever getting hit or injured. It was the first time he had seen her unmerciful to anyone and it was in this battle that he saw just how ruthless and powerful she could be. He guessed that if Kirk had gone ahead and ordered the death of him on Kronos there was a big possibility she would have killed him with her bare hands.

Aria laughed as she cut off the head of a Klingon. She hadn't had this much fun doing battle in years. The way she moved with Khan was like they were meant to fight with one another. She found the way he moved exhilarating. Normally when she went into battle she was all alone. Forced to fend for herself. Though she didn't mind that, now that she was fighting right alongside Khan she found the appeal of having a partner in battle. Someone which she could thoroughly rely. She sliced the throat of a Klingon open with a smile and turned to see Khan in battle with two others. She sensed something coming at her left and turned to see a massive Klingon rushing at Khan with a plasma ray.

"No I don't think so…" She rushed forward and punched the plasma ray out of the Klingons hands before leaping into the air to reach his head which she back fisted so hard his jaw went slack. Khan cut down his last Klingon and smiled before hearing a pained noise. He turned to see a massive Klingon slamming Aria down into the ground where he stabbed her in the side.

"No!" Khan rushed forward and tackled him off Aria before lifting him onto his feet and slamming his fist into the Klingons face over and over again before grabbing a hold of his head and pressing it until it popped open. "Aria." He turned to look to her to see she was standing up quickly. She pulled the knife from her side before throwing it passed his head. He turned quickly and watched as the knife slammed into a Klingons head dropping it to the ground. Aria ran while clutching onto her side to the shuttle Khan following. "Are you alright?" seeing blood seeping through her hand.

"Fine…" She said as she scanned the planet. She smiled when she saw they were the only intelligent life.

"We're good we fought them off…" She said sitting down.

"I'm getting you to medical bay." Khan said as he flew the shuttle away from the battle ground.

"I'm fine." She said as they flew back into the shuttle bay of the Dreadnaught Resurrection. Khan quickly lifted her into his arms and she couldn't help but laugh. "Khan I'm okay."

"You're still bleeding."

"I'll be fine." She said as they rushed onto a turbo lift. "This isn't the first time I've been stabbed you know, I've even been impaled remember that?" She asked and his jaw clenched. "You know thinking now I get stabbed a lot…" She muttered to herself. He rushed out into the medical bay and put her on a table before wheeling over some instruments. "Khan-." He ripped open her shirt and stared down at her side which was covered in crimson blood. "Khan I'm okay…" he wiped the blood away and looked for a wound but stopped when he saw only a small cut surrounded by a bruise. "See…" His thumb brushed over it. "I'm fine…"

"Do me a small favor?" he asked slowly looking up at her.

"Don't get stabbed?" She asked.

"Don't get stabbed anymore."

"I make no promises." She said as his hands rested on her waist his thumbs massaging against her hips in small soothing circles. They locked eyes for a long moment and Khan quickly stood as his mouth crashed against hers. Aria sighed into his mouth as she ripped his shirt off and threw the shredded fabric aside. As Khan pulled her jeans and panties off he kissed down her body.

Arias eyes drifted close as she felt him lap at her most intimate spots. His mouth crashed into hers and she moaned as she felt him slam into her. Her arms and legs wrapped around him as he stood moving into her over and over again as he slammed her back against a wall. Aria smiled as she felt the connection build between them once more.

The feeling of them linked may have been overwhelming, but it didn't make it any less erotic. She had always wondered why she never felt satisfied after battle but frustrated. Now she knew why. It was because she craved something more. Khan groaned as he felt her slip away, her mind was going somewhere else. He bit her neck and she gasped her mind instantly coming back to him and he smiled as he buried himself further into her.

-o-

"Captain we're being hailed." Sulu said.

"Up on screen." Kirk said.

"Bringing to screen Captain." Kirk tilted his head as an image of a young man with piercing grey eyes and white blonde hair in a crew cut style.

"This is Captain James T. Kirk of the Dreadnaught Enterprise, how can I help you?" He asked.

"This is Gabriel Till of the USS Memorial."

"USS Memorial, the ship made to remember those left in the bombings in London."

"The very same."

"What can I do for you Captain Till?"

"I've gotten word from Admiral King that I am to come aboard your ship leaving mine in command of my first officer Jamous Cannes… I'm sending transfer orders now for you to view."

"Transfer order received." Uhura said and Kirk looked them over.

"You have intimate details about my former battle expert…" Kirk said seeing why he was to come aboard. "How?"

"I was the one who questioned her." Kirks jaw clenched. "Now don't give me that look I was given no choice… Just like you were given no choice to hunt her and Khan down."

"Are you already on your way?"

"I will be I didn't just want to show up."

"We'll stay put and await you, how long will you be?"

"I'm on the completely other side so ten hours."

"We'll see you then. Kirk out." The feed went dead and he stared forward.

"Scotty won't like this…" McCoy said.

"I don't like it either…"

-o-

Khan breathed heavily as he laid his head on Arias chest. Her arms were draped around him, her fingers tangled in his black hair. Aria looked around the room and stopped seeing one of the Medibots staring. She tilted her head before laughing and looked up at the ceiling.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Nothing…" she said with an amused look. He moved up her body and kissed her deeply. Aria looked around and smiled to herself.

"I ripped your clothes off." She said and he looked around at the scraps.

"I ripped your shirt off… I think we're even…"

"Oh I didn't rip your pants…" she said reaching over and taking them. "No those are mine…" He smiled. "Let me go get you some clothes."

"No need there are uniforms in here…" he said getting up and walking to a closet. Aria smiled as she pulled on her skinny jeans and stood up as she pulled her structured laced bra on. "Here…" He tossed her a black uniform shirt which she caught. As she did she took a shaky breath as she was taken back some where hidden deep within her mind. Khan turned and watched as Aria bent over her hand gripping onto a counter.

"Aria…" He walked over to her as she took a shaking breath. "Ariadne..." He cupped her face in his hands.

"_Here…" Aria took a deep breath as she looked around a crisp medical room. She was in a state of confusion. One she didn't understand. It was like she was floating, aware, but not. She looked to see McCoy catching a medical shirt in hand. _

"_Bones…" she said softly and he turned to look at her. _

"_She's waking up we need to sedate her further…"_

"_Bones… Please what's…" her voice trailed off as she felt a cloud overcome her. She turned her head and stared at a strange sight. A man was laying on the bed next to her hooked up to tons of machines. _

"_If she can fight the sedation what about her augment friend?" _

"_Khan?" She asked herself but shook her head realizing it wasn't him lying on the bed. "Another?" _

"_We may have to kill this one…" Someone said. _

"_No… No please don't… Don't hurt him…" Aria said trying to reach for the other augment. _

"_How would we go about killing him?" McCoy asked. _

"_No please don't!" _

"_Get her under!" Spock yelled moving before her. _

Aria took a deep shaking breath as her hands clutched onto Khan.

"Aria what is it?" He asked seeing her eyes wide.

"There's another augment…" She said softly. "I… I saw him…"

"What?" he asked confused.

"When I was at the hospital being forced to give up my blood for Kirk there was another Augment in the room with me. Khan…" Her eyes grew wide and he could see panic and guilt written over her expression. "They were talking about killing him if they couldn't keep him under this coma… I couldn't help him I tried but I could-."

"Shh…" he brought her into his arms as he looked around. "You're sure you saw someone?"

"Yes, I don't know why it took me so long to remember…"

"Because you were under so many drugs and near depleted of your blood…"

"I remember now… In the white room… I think Gabriel Till talked about him… I think… It's still hazy…"

"Come on." He took her hand and they quickly walked to the turbo lift. "With the information you downloaded there was tons of archive footage of you in the hospital if there was a man we should be able to see him." They rode all the way up to the bridge before walking out into the open. Khan walked over to a panel and brought up the archive footage.

"There he is…" Aria said with a soft expression seeing man hooked up to tons of machines beside her bed which she was strapped down to.

"That's Galen…" He said.

"Galen?" She asked.

"My chief of medical personal."

"He's a doctor?" she asked walking to his side. "Khan if he's still being kept we could use his help with the-."

"Embryos yes…"

"Why did they wake him up to just keep him in coma?" She asked.

"They didn't. Remember how the busted open one of the torpedoes to see what was inside?"

"Yes."

"Well they used the criotube from that disarmed torpedo to save Kirk, to freeze him so he would not decompose." He said. "I thought they had just killed whoever was inside it seems someone decided otherwise." They fast forwarded through the footage and Khan stopped it seeing Aria being wheeled out of the room by Gabriel Till. "That's when they took you… But they didn't take Galen." He fast forwarded days and weeks ahead until it came up to the point they had cut off the linking system. "He's still in that hospital…"

"We have to save him." Aria said looking to Khan. "We beam in we beam out."

"You get the medical bay ready-."

"No." she said before he could run off. "I'm going into get him, you have to get the medical bay ready."

"Aria-."

"Khan I know nothing about medicine except when it comes to Battle wounds. I do know how to fulfill rescue missions though this wouldn't even be the hardest I've done…"

"I don't like you going back there alone."

"Nor do I but you have to let me do this so when we get back we can hook him up to whatever we need to, to keep him healthy. You know I'm right…" His jaw clenched, he hated that she was right. "Khan let me do this."

"The first sign of trouble, you have me beam you out."

"I promise you get the medical bay ready I'll get weapons and meet you on the teleport room." She said before running off. As Khan headed to the medical bay his mind went to many centuries before.

"_How are they?" Khan asked looking around the criotubes. _

"_Safe as they can be sir…" Galen said looking around the last 72 people left in their race. "I can't believe there's only this many left…"_

"_Nor can I…" Khan said his jaw clenching. "I can't believe we're running like cowards." _

"_We would fight if there was more of us… And someday there will be… When we get to where we're going we're going to re build just like your plan." Galen said. "Now come on let's get you into a tube before you look anymore old." Khan smiled as he walked over to one. _

"_Yours is set?" _

"_Aye Captain." Galen said. "All I have to do is step inside." _

"_When we wake it will be too a new world…"_

"_Aye sir… See you then." _

"_See you then Galen…" _

"_Sir?" _

"_Yes Galen?" _

"_It's been an honor sir." Khan smiled. _

"_The honor has been mine." _

That was the last thing he remembered before he was awoken by Admiral Marcus. Galen had been his confidant in many ways. His closest friend. The only person he trusted with not only his healthy but his inner most thoughts. That was until he had found Aria. Still, he was glad it had been Galen who had been the one found inside the torpedo opened and the one saved from the explosions. Still he didn't know what he was going to say to his old friend. How he was going to explain everything that had happened. How he was going to tell him that he had failed their race.

-o-

After getting the medical bay in order he headed down the turbo lift to the teleport room. He stopped seeing Aria walking onto a pad. She had thigh holsters with phasers strapped to her thighs. A plasma ray across her back and elector knives on her hips. She was ready for anything, and he knew the precaution was needed.

"If he wakes up right when I unhook him is there anything I should say to him?" She asked. "Something to know that you sent him?"

"That'll do."

"That'll do?" she asked and he nodded. "Okay…" She took a breath and looked herself over.

"Are you ready?"

"Yes… Energize." Khan looked at her for a long moment before punching in the code. The second she energized away from him he knew he regretted agreeing her to go. Not because he didn't thinks he could do it. But because he hated her being alone.

-o-

**An: Okay wow fast pace chapter I know a lot went on but hey my pacing rolls like that sometimes you know? I admit it. I see it. Still I hope it was enjoyable the next chapter should be up in the next few days! Love you guys! Oh and to answer the question of a PM I received yes Khan and Aria will be… *clears throat*… Connecting… A lot. So yes this will be one of those fanfics with a lot of steamy scenes. But its Khan, I mean do we really mind? **


	11. An Inception of Sorts

Aria touched down in the room and turned stunning down two officers who were standing guard. She looked up at the cameras and shot them down before turning and looking at a bed where the Augment named Galen lay. She rushed over to the bed with a smile and started carefully un hooking him from the machines.

"I'm going to get you out of here don't you worry…" She said. The door opened and she turned instantly shooting the doctor who came in down. She unhooked the last of the IVs and checked him over one more time. "Khan checking in." She said.

"_Are you ready?" _

"Yes…" Aria said.

"Uhnf…" She looked down at Galen to see his head moving from side to side.

"It's okay… It's okay we're going to get out of here…" She said softly.

"Pain…" He muttered.

"I know, we'll get you all fixed up…"

"Freeze!" She looked up to see two men rushing in with plasma rays. She threw too electro knives which slammed into their chests killing them instantly when a pulse of electricity hit their hearts.

"Khan hurry…" She said seeing a large group running towards them as the doors closed.

"Khan?" She looked down at the man who had ginger hair.

"Galen, my name is Aria, Captain Khan sent me…"

"Khan… Captain…"

"Yes…" He went to move and she placed a steadying hand on his chest. "Please stay still we're going to energize soon…"

"Where the hell… Hell am I?" he asked groggily.

"In a hospital, you've been kept in a coma…"

"Why the hell have I been kept in a coma?"

"It's a long story." His hand shot out and gripped onto her throat. She instantly clutched onto his hand as they were energized.

"That… That." She couldn't get the words out that Khan had told her to say. As they nearly were energized a group rushed in and she fired her plasma ray shooting them down. Khan watched as the two were energized on the pad. His eyes widened when he saw Galen had Aria by the throat.

"Who are you!?" He yelled.

"Ple-please." She choked. Kahn rushed forward and gripped onto Galens arm.

"Galen let her go!" He ordered. "Galen that'll do!" He instantly let go and Aria dropped to the pad coughing up blood.

"Aria-."

"Forget me get him to medical bay." She said her voice hoarse as she clutched onto her throat. Khan pushed the bed towards the turbo lift.

"What… What the hell…" Galen said looking all around and Khan could tell he was confused thanks to the loads of drugs he had been given. "Where… Who…"

"It's alright Galen were going to undo whatever was done to you I promise." As he pushed him into the medical bay Galen shot up in bed.

"No!" he yelled.

"Galen its fine I'm not going to hurt you!" Khan said quickly as he pushed him back down. He hooked Galen up to an IV and immediately began to flush his system. With every second that passed Galens brown eyes became more and more clear. After a few minutes he was taking calm breaths slowly taking in the space around them.

"What… The… Fuck!" Galen yelled.

"Nice to see you as well Galen." Khan said sitting back in a chair. "You good?"

"I've been… So lost… What the hell is going on?" He looked to see A girl with long red hair walking in. "Who the hell is that?"

"Hi… Aria… You tried to crush my throat a few seconds ago after I saved your ass from an eternity of comas, drugs, and blood depletion." Khan smiled as he looked her over.

"What?" Galen asked not understand at all.

"I'm uhm… I'm going to give you two sometime." She said to Khan who nodded as he watched her walk off to the turbo lift.

"I know her name is Ari abut… Who the hell is she exactly?" he asked his Irish accent coming out tried and true.

"It's Aria actually, and she's one of us…" Galen thought on it.

"No… I don't remember an Aria on the Botany Bay…"

"We… Have a lot to discuss old friend…" Khan said setting a hand on his shoulder.

"Captain?" he slowly brought his eyes to Galen. "What's happened sir?"

"They're dead Galen… We're the only ones left…"

-o-

Kirk stood in the shuttle bay and waited for the former Captain Gabriel's shuttle to open up. Scotty was at his side his jaw clenching. He wasn't sure what the Scotsman was going to do. After all the man who had tortured Aria was about to come face to face to them. The door to the shuttle opened and the young man with white blonde hair walked out.

"Captain Kirk." Gabriel said walking out.

"Commander Till welcome to the Dreadnaught Enterprise." He greeted as the man shook his hand.

"Hello there." Scotty said and Gabriel eyed him.

"Uhm, Hello."

"This is Scotty…" Kirk said. "My chief engineer."

"Nice to meet you."

"So you questioned Aria Adne?"

"I did yes."

"She's my god daughter." Scotty slammed his fist across the young mans face and walked away as he hissed in pain.

"What the hell?" Gabriel asked standing blood roaming down his chin. "Are you going to let that stand?"

"I didn't see anything." Kirk said. "I was looking over there." He said pointing to another shuttle. "Did something happen, oh you're bleeding." He said and Gabriel stood. "You should head to the medical bay and fix that."

"Right… I see how it is…"

"Yeah, why don't you go get your mouth fixed…" Kirk said before walking off.

-o-

Aria leaned against a control panel as she waited for Khan to come back. He had been with Galen for hours. She understood why. It had been three hundred years. There was a lot to talk about, even more to fill Galen in on. She didn't blame him for nearly crushing her throat. After all when she had woken up from her blood depletion and drugging she had been scared and out of it as well. The door to the bridge opened and she stood up straight as Khan walked in. She took a breath when Galen walked in after him.

"Good you're here." Khan said. Galen walked right up to her and she looked him over for a moment.

"We need to reintroduce ourselves… Again." He said. "My name is Galen Torin Kray…" He put his hand out and she smiled as she shook it.

"Ariadne."

"No last name?" He asked.

"No." she said with a smile. "Usually I just split apart the names."

"Aria Adne… So I'll call you Aria?"

"If you like." She said with a smile.

"Nice to meet you Aria."

"And you as well Galen."

"Thanks for remembering me."

"Sorry it took so long too." Galen smiled as he looked over the girl who had won the affections of his captain.

"Can I have some of your blood?"

"I'm sorry?" she asked seeing him pull out a syringe.

"It can wait…" Khan said.

"No… If we're going to be stealing those Embroys by the end of the week it really can't Captain."

"Why do you need my blood?" She asked and Galen looked to her.

"Well… You're an augment but you may be different." He said.

"Because I was grown and not born?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Just like the embryos?"

"Exactly."

"So you want to see how my blood is compared to yours to better take care of said embryos once genetically altered?" Galen smiled as he looked to Khan.

"You're right she's quick." He said before turning back to her. "So can-." He stopped to see her arm was out and waiting.

"Take as much as you need."

"Thanks." He said sticking her arm and taking the blood. When he was done he looked it over and started muttering to himself as he walked away. "Nice meeting you Aria…"

"Nice meeting you." She said as he disappeared into the turbo lift. "So… He's adjusted…"

"The fallout will come later… He's good at compartmentalizing…" Khan said walking to her. He set his hand on her cheek and tilted her head back to look over her neck.

"I'm fine…" she said as he looked over a light bruise.

"You could have broken his arm to keep him from crushing your wind pipe." He said.

"You once told me we don't hurt our own kind." He nodded with a smile.

"That's right…" He said. "Any trouble?" he asked.

"A bit but I took care of it." She said with a smile. "So… We have a member of the original Botany Bay crew you must be happy."

"Yes." He said. "Galen was a friend of mine… I'm glad it was him, not to mention him being a medical expert is very convenient."

"Very." She took his hands in hers. "Does he… Know?"

"About us?" She nodded. "Yes… He says of course it would take me three hundred years to find a woman who could stand me." She laughed.

"I like him."

"He has a quirky way to him, one many find charming." He said.

"He said by the end of the week we're going to be stealing the embryos."

"Yes." He said.

"Have a plan?"

"Not yet I need your help with it."

"Well." She sat down at a panel. "Let's plan." He nodded with a smile sitting down next to her. "Which bank did you choose?"

"It's a Federation Embryo Bank." He said and she looked to him.

"A Federation bank?" she asked.

"Yes, it will have the best candidates."

"Yeah it will also be dangerous." She said. "I chose the banks I did because we'd have more time… These places are locked down… Trust me I know." He looked to her.

"You know?" he inquired.

"It's… A long story." She said with a smile.

"One I'd like to hear…"

"Fine." She said. "A couple years back I found out the bank where the 32 augmented Embroys were held at one point… I wanted to break in and find any information I could… I tried I got caught and the only reason I didn't go to jail for the rest of my life was because of Bradshaw…"

"Let me guess men came in and you let them take you away…"

"Well yeah…"

"Now what would you do?" he asked and she thought about it.

"Stun them, kill them if I had to."

"You've grown as a person which is why this time around it'll work and you won't get caught." She smiled.

"I love that in your mind killing innocent people is growing as a person." She said with a small laugh and instantly he looked to her with an expression she didn't understand. He almost looked angry. "What?" she asked not being able to read his expression.

"Are we back there again?" she smiled unsure of what he meant.

"Back where?" she asked quirking an eyebrow.

"Anyone who isn't an Augment is lower and there for needs to die, no one is innocent not anymore Aria."

"Khan…" She said carefully. "You know… There are some good people out there…" His jaw clenched and she took a deep breath feeling his anger deep inside herself thanks to the connection between them.

"How can you still have faith in a race such as theirs after everything they've done to you?" he asked before getting up and storming off.

"Hang on no." she said following him. "No I'm not saying the federation is good… I'm just saying that there are some people out there. A small number but they are out there…" She said as she followed him into his quarters.

"Like?" He asked turning on her and she smiled.

"Like Bradshaw… He knew what I was and he didn't care… He still loved me and protected me…"

"Because he knew he could further his career as a geneticist by using your blood to unlock secrets... I've looked at his work and the leaps and bounds he made couldn't have been done without our blood. He used you." His jaw clenched instantly wishing he hadn't said what he had said. He slowly looked to Aria to see she was staring off her jaw clenching, her expression filled with pain. "Ariadne-."

"I can't believe you just said that to me…"

"Aria-."

"Harold Bradshaw was a kind brilliant man and he never once used my blood…" She said snapping. "He loved me and protect me like I was his own…" She stared at him. "He died protecting me… Pushed me out of the way of the building you dropped on him."

"I'm sorry I don't know why I said what I said."

"Yeah well enjoy sleeping alone tonight." She said before walking into her own living quarters.

"Ariadne." He walked to the door and froze when it would not open. He sighed heavily realizing she had locked him out. His hand set on his chest as his heart gave a quiver. It wasn't his immense sadness he was feeling but Arias. "Well done Khan…" he muttered to himself as he backed up and leaned against his desk as he bowed his head forward.

-o-

Aria took a deep breath as she sat at the edge of her bed. She couldn't forget Khans words. Or what they had brought up in her mind. She hadn't meant for her joke to make him angry. It had been just that a joke. She wasn't sure why he had snapped at her in such a way.

"_No I'm not saying the federation is good… I'm just saying that there are some people out there. A small number but they are out there…" _

"_Like?" He asked turning on her and she smiled. _

"_Like Bradshaw… He knew what I was and he didn't care… He still loved me and protected me…" _

"_Because he knew he could further his career as a geneticist by using your blood to unlock secrets... I've look at his work and the leaps and bounds he made couldn't have been done without our blood. He used you."_

Aria took a breath as she set her hands in her lap as she stared down at them. She was angry with him for bringing up Bradshaw. Even angrier about what he had said to her about him. But in some ways he had spoken the truth. Bradshaw had used her blood for his genetic testing. Had used it to make advances in some Genetic disorders, but he had always asked nicely. Still she couldn't help but wonder. Had Bradshaw used her? Used her like everyone else?

"_Aria come here for a moment!"_

"_Coming!" Aria quickly walked down the hallway throwing her hair up into a messy bun as she did. She walked into his lab and smiled seeing him bent over a microscope. "You know I came in here two hours ago and you were looking through that thing, if you're not careful you'll go blind." _

"_I'm starting to feel like I am." He said with a smile as he sat up straight and rubbed his eyes. _

"_So what's up?" she asked. _

"_Finished your dissertation for the federation yet?" he asked. _

"_I did it's getting edited now." She said with a proud smile. "Think I'll get that chief battle expert job everyone is talking about?"_

"_You're the most qualified." He said with a smile. "Look I was wondering…" he grabbed a syringe and Aria shifted. "Think I could have another sample?"_

"_You've taken like ten in the past two days Harold." She said with a smile. She didn't mind giving him what he needed. But after a while she did get annoyed with getting poked at. "Fifty this week."_

"_I know but I'm working on a genetic code to maybe cure Silas Syndrome in young children… Your blood as usual may be the cure." _

"_Silas Syndrome huh?" she asked. _

"_It's for the greater good." She smiled as she stretched out her arm. _

"_Take it before I change my mind…" he laughed as he kissed her cheek. _

"_You're a saint." _

"_You owe me frozen yogurt." _

"_I'll bye you ice cream cake." He said and she smiled as she watched her blood seep out of her arm into the blood canister. _

"_I may need a quart coming up…"_

"_I hate those…"_

"_I know but it's-."_

"_For the greater good… I know…"_

Aria looked at the crook of her arm where blood had been taken from her so many times by Bradshaw. Maybe the only reason he protected her was because he loved her blood not her.

_Maybe Khan is just using me as well… _She thought as a deep sadness filled her chest.

-o-

Khan rode the turbo lift down to the weapons bay. He hadn't seen or spoken to Aria in near twenty four hours. So far he was losing his grip on things. She as of late was the one who brought balance to his life. Lightened him up when all he wanted to do was kill. He couldn't take her ignoring him anymore though he knew he deserved it.

Bradshaw before him was the only man she had ever allowed herself to trust completely. He knew that the topic of Harold Bradshaw was a strained one to have between himself and Aria. Especially since Bradshaws blood was on his hands. He didn't know why he had snapped at Aria the way he did. Maybe it was fear she was reverting back but he now knew that wasn't the case.

He walked out into the weapons bay and looked all around before spotting Aria at the target range. As he walked up to her he watched her throw knife after knife into the center of randomly projected targets. Her aim was perfect and never off. She went to throw another and stopped, he knew that she had sensed him.

"What do you want?" Aria asked looking down at the throwing knife in hand.

"I'm sorry." She threw the knife into the center of a target.

"That's nice." She muttered.

"Ariadne…" he went to wrap his arms around her and she instantly shrugged away from him.

"Don't touch me." She said walking away. Khan took a breath as he felt the anger directed towards him seep into his soul. He liked the connection they had, especially when they were intimate, but right now he wasn't so sure. She was angry with him, confused at something he didn't know, and sad about the same thing in which he didn't know.

"I'm sorry." He said walking to her.

"Just… Leave me alone Khan…"

"I can't, not when there is something bothering you…"

"Why don't you use our little connection to figure it out?" She muttered and he tilted his head. She wasn't happy about the connection anymore. She didn't trust him anymore.

"You don't trust me anymore…"

"Why should I you're probably using me just like everyone else has…" she muttered turning to look at him. "Good job with bedding me having this connection is like having a permanent leash on me."

"The connection we have is rare, it doesn't usually happen between Augments." He said. "I didn't do this on purpose."

"Sure…"

"I wouldn't lie to you." He said walking to her.

"Is there a way to break the connection?" she asked and his jaw clenched.

"Do you want to?"

"Yes…"

"Are you going to leave again?"

"No." She said and he knew she wasn't lying. "I said I'd stay by your side which I will but I don't want… I don't want to be with you anymore…"

"Now who's lying?" he asked and her jaw clenched further. Khan walked to her, when she tried to move away he set his hand on her hips and backed her against a table so she couldn't move. "I'm not using you…"

"Sure you are, that's what people do to me… They use me to further their resolve. Bradshaw did it, Scotty did it, Kirk did it, now you're doing it."

"Bradshaw didn't-."

"Yes he did." She said pain evident in her voice. "He loved my blood not me… He said I was like a daughter but he lied… Just like everyone else does." He set his hand on her cheek realizing that he had done this to her. He had implanted an idea which had grown doubt within her mind.

"I'm not using you…" he said as his thumb brushed over her cheek.

"I don't know that."

"Yes you do… You know because of our connection."

"That could be a lie too…" he moved forward his mouth crashing against hers as his arm wrapped around her body. She fought him for a moment before the connection built and she felt his energy meld with hers. He lifted her up on the table as his fingers ran through her hair.

"Does it feel like a lie?" he asked and she moved forward kissing him passionately. Both knew that when the link between them was heated it was hard to put out the fire.

"Stop…" she said pushing against him as he continued to kiss her. "Stop." She pushed him back and he stumbled a good ten feet away from her. Aria quickly walked away from him to the turbo lift her body buzzing.

"Ariadne…" he said but she didn't stop. Khan set his hand on a table as he steadied himself. His body ached for hers in that moment. He had been sure she wouldn't be able to resist him, after all he wouldn't be able to resist her, which told him just how angry and confused she must have been.

-o-

Aria took deep breath as she sat under the cold water of her shower. Her body was still humming from Khan. She was completely unsatisfied, and she could feel his lack of satisfaction mixing with her own. It was unbearable. She could handle it herself, ease the dissatisfaction by letting her own hand linger south, but she was worried Khan would know. She sighed heavily her face burying in her hands.

It wasn't just her sexual frustration which was bothering her. She had felt through the connection though that Khan had lied to her in the very beginning, or more concealed the truth, he hadn't since she had given him her trust. He had no intentions of turning on her. He had no plans of deserting her. He also had no plans of using her but only asking for her help. Now she had to admit she was wrong, and that fact made her jaw clench.

She got out of the shower and wrapped her Kimono around her body. She walked into her room and stopped looking to the door that separated her room from Khans. She could feel him in there pacing around. She sighed heavily as the link hummed deep within her body. She walked over to her vanity and went to sit down but took a shaking breath. She found herself turning and walking towards the door that separated her from Khan. She walked in despite her want not too. She heard the shower turn on and quickly moved forward. Just as she entered it Khan was walking out to seek her presence which he had felt.

"Ariadne…"

"I'm sorry." She said kissing him deeply.

"I'm sorry for putting doubt into your mind." He said as he tore the kimono from her body and lifted her up into his arms. "You're freezing." He said feeling her cold skin.

"Cold shower, it doesn't work when you have an Augment link…"

"We've learned a lesson…" he said as he rested back on his desk.

"Don't start anything you can't finish…" Aria climbed on top of him and his head threw back as she moved onto his erection slowly filling her up inch by inch. As she rode him her arms wrapped around his body. "I'm so sorry Khan…" She said softly kissing him deeply. He moaned feeling their energies meld. "How could I have doubted this?"

"How could we have denied ourselves this for as long as we did?" he flipped her onto her back and pushed her hands above her head as he moved into her over and over again. His head bowed to her chest. She was consuming him in that moment, and he knew that this was just one of the many ways Augments were different from regular humans. In a human intimate relationship the only person to consume was the man. He would consume the woman completely and sometimes leave her with nothing return. In this case it was even. Aria consumed him and he consumed her and in the end both of them were left with something profound.

"Come back to me…" she said softly and he smiled as his mouth crashed against hers.

"I'm here I'm right here…" He said as he picked her up in his arms her legs wrapping around his waist not wanting to lose physical contact. He slammed back against a wall before sinking to the floor as she continued to move on and off of him. Each time she moved back over him she found herself coming closer and closer to the edge, just like he could feel her coming closer and closer to the edge.

"Khan…" she moved feeling him throbbing deep within her. "Khan…" her hands gripped onto his large shoulders. He tried to hold on wanting to hear her scream his name instead of moan it gently. "Khan… Khan… Khan!" he held onto her tightly as he came deep within her. Her head rested in the crook of his neck as his arms wrapped tightly around her. They took deep breaths for a long while as both clung to one another before Khan smiled.

"Many people have screamed my name but it's never sounded like that."

"Don't let it go to your head…" she said as she pulled back and looked him over. Khan smiled as he looked over her flushed cheeks and swollen lips. He slowly cupped her cheek as he moved forward and kissed her passionately. "I'm so sorry…" she whispered her lips brushing against his.

"I shouldn't have said what I said… And Ariadne?" she looked him over.

"Yes?" She inquired.

"I don't think Bradshaw used you… He just liked helping people, and a way he could was with your blood… I think he did love you like a daughter." A tear slowly cascaded down her cheek. "I'm so sorry I took him away from you." She moved forward and wrapped her arms around him. "I'll spend the rest of my life making it up to you." He said as he picked her up in his arms and carried her over to the bed.


	12. Is There Anything Else

Aria smiled as the turbo lift doors opened up into the medical bay. She had been called from the weapons bay to see Khan and Galen. In all honesty she wasn't sure about Galen yet. Mostly because she knew nothing about him. She hadn't gotten a chance to talk to him, he had been examining her blood for near five days now and she hadn't wanted to disturb him during his work.

"I have arrived what's the urgency?" Aria asked walking in.

"Oh good she's here, the first officer lady of the hour." Galen said as he walked over and took her hands. "Come here first officer lady of the hour." She smiled as he led her over to chair and sat her down. "Your blood… is…" He laughed and she looked to Khan who was eyeing her carefully. "It's bloody amazing it is." He said and she looked to him. "Your whole genetic code blows ours out of the water." He said motioning to himself and Khan.

"Mine does?" She asked. "How? I mean I'm the same race."

"No no no love you…" He said pointing at her. "You are the next level of our race…"

"Next level?" she asked.

"Bound to happen after three hundred years, that our race would adapt, evolution and all that." He said. "From what I can tell you're faster, stronger, and smarter, I should say I'm glad you were raised by humans because if you were raised by augments you'd want to wipe us out."

"Any weakness's?" she asked.

"Just the usual, blood depletion." He said with a smile. "But I recommend this. We use her genetic code for the embryos, I've already created a sequence from her blood…" Galen said looking to Khan. "I don't know if it will work for both sexes because her genetic code is obviously Female but if not we can just use ours and the women will just be more powerful, but isn't that how it should be?"

"I like you." Aria said to Galen who smiled cheekily while Khan looked off.

"Yes we'll use her Genetic Code, if it's alright with you that is?" Khan asked her.

"Of course." She said with a smile. "Anything to help."

"Looks like you're going to be a genetic mommy." Galen said shaking her hand. "Congratulations." She smiled.

"Uh thanks I guess." She said

"Can I have some more of your blood?"

"Why not." She said stretching out her arm.

"I'll need a quart."

"Okay-."

"No." Khan said and she looked to him.

"Uhm… A pint then?" Galen inquired and Khans eyes narrowed.

"It's fine you can take quart I'm used to it." Aria said.

"No… No I'll just take a pint." Galen said. Aria looked to Khan who was staring at her with an unreadable expression.

"Meet me on bridge." He said as he walked out.

"Why do I get the feeling I'm in trouble?" She asked Galen.

"It's me who is in trouble." He said with a smile.

"You? For what?"

"Asking for so much of your blood at once…" He said.

"I don't understand…" Galen smiled as he looked the girl over. He had been told by Khan that she knew little of their race because she had been all alone for so many years amongst humans.

"You and Khan… You two have uhm…" he cleared his throat. "I'm trying to be delicate… Had… Coitus." She laughed.

"Such a medical term but yes." She said and he smiled.

"And from what he says you two linked…"

"Yes." She said with a girlish blush.

"When a male Augment links to a Female Augment they become very protective of them… Because blood depletion can kill us he would be very protective of your blood…"

"Well it's my blood so take as much as you need."

"I can see why he likes you." He said. "Spirited and brave going against Khans orders like that…" He laughed while Aria stared off she was now seeing her error. Khan was upset with her not with Galen. "Aria you alright darling?" he asked in his smooth Irish accent which for the first time she was noticing.

"Yes do you have the blood?" She asked as he took the needle out of her arm.

"Yes all done."

"Good I'll come by and talk to you later I'd like to learn more about what I am."

"Who you are, not what." He corrected with a smile as she walked to the turbo lift. She rode up to the bridge and walked out seeing Khan by the chair. She looked him over for a moment before slowly walking in.

"I'm sorry." She said as she reached him and he turned to look at her. "I didn't mean to undermine you about my blood with Galen."

"It's fine."

"No you're the Captain and it's not just us now there is an actual a crew… A small one but a crew none the less… I need to be more professional when addressing you and-." Khan set his hand on her cheek instantly silencing her.

"You are my equal, you have no formality with me…

"So when the other Augments are full grown I can all you Captain Fancy pants?" She asked with a wicked smile.

"Always giving me such hell."

"And you love it…" She said with a smile as she kissed him deeply. "I'm going to go down to the weapons bay."

"You've been spending an awful lot of time down there." He said as he watched her head off.

"There's so much to look at." She said with a smile as she walked to the turbo lift.

"Ariadne?" She turned and looked to him. "Come to me tonight…"

"Maybe." She said with a wicked look as he smiled. When the Turbo lift went away Khan stared forward.

"Always giving me such hell…"

-o-

Khan rode down the Turbo lift. He had waited hours for Aria, but she had never come to him. He thought she had been kidding when she said she might come to him. She had, had her smirk after all. Which usually indicated a jest of some sort. The doors to the weapons bay opened up and he stepped out as a huge beam of light from a plasma ray slammed into a target across the room.

"This thing is awesome!" Aria laughed running out into view holding the huge cannon in her hands.

"That is for battle not for play." She turned to him quickly before laughing.

"I'm not playing…" She said looking down at it. "I'm… Familiarizing…" She shot the target and laughed. "No I'm totally playing. I love this thing!" She said jumping with glee as she stared down at the weapon.

"Glad you take pleasure in your work." He said with a smile.

"Did you design this beautiful piece of battle equipment?" She asked walking it back to its rightful place and setting the weapon down.

"I designed all the weapons on this ship."

"They're all brilliant." She said with a smile. "Perfect for what needs to be done…" He looked her over as she leaned against a table and looked him over.

"Why do I think you're not talking about the federation embryo bank?"

"Because I'm not…" She said as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I checked into Gabriel Till a few hours ago, he's no longer aboard the USS Memorial." She said.

"Where is he?" He inquired.

"He's aboard the Dreadnaught Enterprise…" Khan instantly nodded as he looked off his arms crossing over his chest.

"You want to go aboard the Enterprise and capture him." He said.

"Yes."

"Hi can't help but over hear." They turned to see Galen walking over. "Wasn't eaves dropping, but did I just hear that the wee lass wants to sneak aboard the Dreadnaught class ship of our mortal enemy to capture one man?"

"Yes." Khan said.

"Yeah no." Galen said and she smiled.

"Don't worry I plan on waiting until after the Embryo mission." She said with a smile.

"It's too dangerous lass, what if they capture you again?" He asked. He hardly knew the girl, but he didn't know she was dear to his captain and there for dear to him as well.

"Won't happen." She said.

"Gabriel… Does know your weakness for blood depletion." Khan said carefully.

"Which is why I'll bleed him out before he can me… He won't see me coming, I'll beam in and beam out. Just like I did with Galen."

"Look Aria." Galen said walking to her as he ran his fingers through his ginger hair. "I like you, more so I like your blood…" He turned to Khan. "Captain we can't risk losing her blood not when we have Embryos who may need it."

"Key word may Captain." Aria said and Khan looked to her. "I can do this, besides… I think we should end Gabriel Till not just because I have a personal Vendetta but because… He's…" she looked up trying to think of a good reason. "He's just irritating okay? And he should die for it." Khan smiled as he looked off. "Besides an incursion aboard the Dreadnaught Enterprise would prove a point to star fleet and those aboard the ship."

"Captain don't listen to her-."

"I'll think about it." Khan said looking to them. "Does that answer satisfy both of you?"

"No." They both said at the same time.

"Well too bad." He said pulling rank. "Aria we need to go over the plans for the heist…"

"Aye Captain." She said following him to the turbo lift.

-o-

"_Tell me where khan is!?" _ Gabriel smiled in his chair as he watched the archive footage of Aria Adnes interrogation. He tilted his head as he watched himself cut into her abdomen with a specially made scalpel made to cut her tough skin open. He smiled as he heard her give a pained noise, and instantly his hands gripped onto the arms of his chair. _"Tell me!"_

"_Fuck you!"_

"Such… Spunk…" Gabriel said with a smile as he watched himself slam his fist into Aria over and over again as she refused to scream. He heard a knock and sighed before closing down the footage and standing. He smoothed out his uniform before walked to his door and sliding it open. "Kirk." He greeted.

"Gabriel…" He said walking in and looking around. "Are you quarters comfortable?"

"Very, but much different from my last ship."

"It does take some getting used to. My quarters are right off the bridge."

"Convenient."

"Yes it is…"

"So you've come to talk about Aria Adnes Interrogation?"

"Yes." Kirk said looking him over.

"Want to know what I found out?"

"Yes."

"Nothing." He said leaning against his desk. "She wouldn't talk… She would yell in pain, scream in pain, cuss at me, but she never gave up Khan… She was truly loyal to him…"

"I would like to see the footage."

"There is none." Kirk tilted his head.

"There is none?" he asked.

"None." Gabriel confirmed.

"No… I don't believe that… Star fleet keeps amazing track of everything even their dirty work."

"Aria Adne was the accomplice to a war criminal it was hardly dirty work."

"She was never his accomplice not until I gave her no choice."

"She always had a choice." Gabriel said with a smirk.

"The footage Gabriel." Kirk said his eyes narrowing in on the man. "Now."

"It's Classified."

"Classified my ass I'm the captain of a Dreadnaught class ship in search of the war criminal Khan I have authorization and you know it."

"Then find it yourself." Kirk grabbed Gabriel by the shirt and slammed him up against the wall.

"I have been through a lot of shit these past few months…" Kirk said his jaw clenching. "I swear to god if you make me go the long way and I find out you had a file of it this whole time I will throw you in the brig."

"For what?"

"For what ever I damn well please… I am Captain… This is my ship… I make the laws here… Now give me the fucking archive footage." He slammed him against the wall for good measure before stepping away. Gabriel straightened out his uniform with a smirk before walking over to a panel and copying down the archive footage.

"I worn you… It's hard to watch."

"Thanks for the warning." Kirk said taking it before storming off.

When he got back to his quarters of the bridge he paced for a long while Spock standing calm in the corner as he did. Kirk wasn't sure if he wanted to see what was in the archive footage. But he knew he needed to. He especially wanted to see how Aria escaped.

"Captain, you don't have to do this." Spock said.

"Yes… I do… We do…" He said.

"We sir?" Spock asked.

"I've reviewed archive footage of the chase down of Khan and Aria…" Kirk said leaning against a desk. "I've also read the report."

"Yes Captain…"

"You hunted them down, took vengeance, especially on Aria."

"I thought it was what you would have done if I had been in the reactor."

"Yes but I wouldn't have taken it out on Aria… Spock I know deep down you know that Aria is an innocent. Move aside the logic and the pain you were feeling at the time…"

"She…" Spock tilted his head as he stared at the floor. "She saved me from falling off that shuttle… And I…" He looked to Kirk. "Tried to kill her."

"Proud of you Spock…"

"Even so…"

"Gunna ruin it aren't you?" Kirk asked.

"She is not innocent…" Spock said.

"And you ruined it…"

"These files came through today…" he walked over to the desk and brought up a projection of Aria shooting down innocent men in a hospital.

"What was she doing?" Kirk asked.

"The Augment we had to take out of the crio tube to save your life was in the same hospital room as Aria, a few days ago she broke in alone killing 17 men and beamed the Augment to an unknown location."

"Why are we just getting this now?" Kirk asked watching her un hook a gingered hair man from tons of machines.

"Unsure."

"Can we get Audio?" Spock tried and tilted his head.

"It seems not…"

"She's saying something to him…" Kirk said. "What is she saying? More importantly where is Khan?"

"Just my point, I do not think she is a prisoner of Khan as you think… I now deduce that she is a willing participant in his schemes." Kirk looked to him.

"Well why don't we take a look on what might have made her that way." Kirk said pulling up the archive footage of Arias interrogation. They both stared at a blank projection.

"There is no footage…" Spock said. Before he could try again they heard a shaking breath.

"_Hello?"_ They heard Aria ask.

They both watched silently with wide eyes for as long as they could as Aria was questioned over and over again by Gabriel Till only to have her tell him nothing or just scream in pain. Kirk reached forward his hand shaking slightly as he halted the footage as Gabriel was going to pull one of her teeth out. He stared at the blood imagery for a long moment before looking to Spock.

"Why would she not tell him about Khan?"

"Because she's loyal…" Kirk said. "Spock I need to know… Did you know Aria was really alive?"

"Yes." He answered truthfully right away.

"Why the hell didn't you tell Scotty and I?"

"You never asked."

"Are you kidding me right now?"

"I… Do regret it now."

"Do you?" Kirk asked. "Jesus Spock…" He muttered turning back to the footage. He fast forwarded to near the end.

"_Rest for now… Regenerate." _Gabriel said. _"Because in five hours I'm coming back in here and starting all over again…" _He kissed her bloody forehead before walking off. Kirks eyes closed hearing Arias pained noises as she spit up blood.

"Her fucking teeth are lined up by her head…" Kirk said his hands resting on his hips. "I can't believe I let this happen."

"You didn't know."

"And whose fault is that?" Kirk asked and Spock bowed his head for a moment. Kirk moved forward when he saw Khan start to energize in the room. He watched as Khan stared at a wall and walked towards it examining a spray of fresh blood. Khan slowly turned and moved towards Aria. "He looks pissed."

"_Aria?"_ Khan asked softly. He stared at her for a long moment before blood spurted from her mouth and a pained rattling noise came from the center of her chest. _ "What have they done to you?"_ he asked softly.

"_Every…"_ Kirk tilted his head as he watched a bloody tear fall down her cheek. _"Every day you ask…"_ She said softly with a hoarse voice. _"When are you going to learn?"_ She coughed. _"That I'm not going to tell you a fucking thing…"_ She said softly and Kirk watched as Khan looked her over to see she was struggling to just open her eyes. _"Just…"_ She coughed blood sputtering out of her mouth_. "Let me go…"_

"_I'll do one better…"_ Khan said softly as he undid the restraints at her wrists and ankles. Kirk watched as Khan lifted her up into his arms and stopped as she made a pained noise. He slowly moved and stopped again as a loud pop sounded in her side from a breaking rib. The once strong invincible Aria thanks to the federation had been turned into a china doll. Breaking into pieces at the slightest pressure.

"_No… Don't… Don't touch me…" _Aria pleaded softly.

"_I'm sorry."_ Khan moved and she cried out in pain as numerous bones with in her body snapped like twigs, the sound making Khan and Kirk cringe. He hit a button on his lapel and gave a sigh of relief as they began to energize. Two men rushed into the room. He smiled at them before throwing two knives into their chest that sent a deadly electric pulse straight to their hearts. Kirk moved forward and rewound the footage. He paused it as Khan began to move with Aria breaking in his arms.

"_I'm sorry…" _

"Look at that…" Kirk said bringing the image up bigger of Khan.

"Captain?" Spock unsure of what his captain was seeing.

"He genuinely looks concerned for her…"

"Well Khan is a master manipulator…" Spock said.

"Maybe…" Kirk said.

-o-

Aria looked over the plans for the thousandth time. She was memorizing everything about the embryo bank. Right down to the closets. She wanted to make sure that when they pulled the heist nothing went wrong. She felt Khan moved up behind her and kiss her neck.

"No." she said.

"No?" he asked looking her over before kneeling at her side. "No?"

"We have work to do." She said with a smile. "That can come later."

"I want it to come now."

"Well… Too bad… To use your words." She muttered and Khan smiled.

"I see… You're upset about my choice to think about you going after Gabriel Till on the Dreadnaught Enterprise."

"Well to think about it means no."

"No, it means I'm thinking about it." She looked to him with a scowl.

"Connection remember?" She asked. "You're not going to let me go."

"It's… Dangerous."

"You're too protective…"

"Can you blame me?" He asked as he moved forward and kissed her neck. She pushed him gently back with a smile while shaking her head.

"Khan… No."

"How can you deny me?"

"You know we built this connection without you so much as taking me out on a date, and we've… Built it… Many times since then, without said date." His hand rested on her arm.

"You want to go on a date?" he asked and she laughed before smiling as she looked him over.

"You're not the dating kind of Augment are you?"

"Would it make you happy?"

"Yes."

"Then I am that kind of Augment." She smiled.

"You don't have to."

"I should do something, if you're feeling… Unappreciated." She smiled.

"I'm not feeling unappreciated."

"Then why do you deny me?" He asked his hand resting on her thigh.

"Because we have work to do I need to learn these plans."

"You know the plans Ariadne…" He said his hand moving up her thigh and she sighed slightly as she stopped him.

"I don't want to right now..." She said with a smile and Khan took a breath making her laugh. "You're not used to being said no to are you?" she asked with a smile as she looked to him.

"No." he said. "What is plaguing you?"

"Why do you thinks something is plaguing me?" he kissed her neck.

"The connection…" She smiled as she looked off.

"I'm just worried about the mission… It isn't easy for me to go right into the heart of a federation building after what happened."

"We could blow it up afterwards." He said his hand massaging her thigh.

"No there are babies being grown for unfortunate souls who cannot bare their own… It would be senseless to end their lives…"

"They are test tube babies…" he said dismissing them.

"So was I." he looked to her. "And so are the Augmented children we are about to grow."

"They will be adults by the end of the process… Galen says it will take six months."

"A long time, but needed…"

"Indeed." He said.

"With as many as we're taking we'll have a lot of names to think up."

"The first 71 will be named after my murdered crew." She tilted her head as she reached out and cupped his cheek. He watched as curiosity rose into her eyes.

"Did you know any of the crew members personally, was any of them your family I mean paternal family?"

"No I had no siblings and my parents died long before…"

"I'm sorry."

"It was a long time ago…" he said his hand resting over hers as he looked off. "A very long time ago…"

"Not to you…" She said and he looked to her. "It may have been centuries but you were asleep for those three hundred years…"

"It was a long time before I took my slumber as well though…"

"How long if I can ask?"

"They died when I was seven."

"How old were you when you went into the criotube?"

"Old." She smiled.

"How old?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"I want to make sure I haven't fallen for some old man." She said and Khan looked her over. "What?" she asked.

"Fallen for?" he asked using her words and she smiled as she looked off.

"Did I say that?"

"Yes… You did…"

"Slip of the tongue nothing more…" She muttered. Before he could say anything an alarm sounded. Aria instantly got up and walked out onto the bridge. Her jaw clenched as she looked over the scans. "They're back… The Klingons… One Shuttle… I'm handling this now." She said before walking out

"What's going on?" Galen asked as he walked out of the Turbo lift as she walked in.

"Ariadne where are you going?" Khan asked gripping onto the door before she could leave.

"I'm a battle expert, I'm going to battle."

"We're going with." Khan said and Galen nodded as he walked onto the Turbo lift.

"It's one shuttle I can handle it myself."

"We handle things together." Galen said nudging her with a smile. "It's just how us Augments do things. I should say though we may want to think about going to another planet if these Klingons keep showing their ugly mugs."

"No Vaquitas is ours." Khan said.

"I quite agree." Aria said.

"They'll just keep attacking." Galen stated.

"And we'll just keep killing them." Khan said as they walked out onto the weapons bay.

"No they won't." Aria said and both male augments looked to her unsure of what she was thinking. After grabbing what they needed they headed to the shuttle bay and flew out of the ship which was cloaked from sight. They set down as a Klingon war bird spotted them. When they walked out of the shuttle Galen looked around at the all the dead Klingon bodies laying about the ground.

"From the last battle?" He asked.

"Yes…" Aria said.

"What are you thinking Ariadne?" Khan inquired.

"I'm going to send a message." The Klingon war bird landed and Aria smiled as she watched the shuttle open and a group of Klingons slowly walked out and face them.

"_I wish to speak to the leader." _Aria said and instantly Khan and Galen looked to her.

"You speak Klingon?" Khan asked.

"Yes." She said.

"Since when?"

"I learned it a few days ago." She said with a shrug.

"Super blood…" Galen said.

"_I WISH TO SPEAK TO THE LEADER." _Aria said louder and with a more stern tone.

"_I am the leader…" _One moved forward and Aria sighed as she threw a knife so hard it slammed into the Klingons head and out the back. Khan stared forward while Galen stared at Aria wide eyed.

"_The real leader." _Aria said and the largest slowly move forward.

"You have killed many of my people." He said in perfect English.

"They tried to kill us first." Aria said taking a step forward. The Klingon through a knife and Aria caught it between both her hands right in front of her throat. She smiled as she held the twisted knife in hand and looked it over. "I'm going to tell you a message and you are going to take it back to your leader." Aria said.

"If I don't?" He asked.

"If you don't I will carve the message on your body and have your comrades take you to your leader to receive." She said her eyes locking with his.

"You wouldn't."

"Try me." She said with a dangerous look.

"What… Is… Message?" he asked.

"This planet is not yours for the taking." She said walking to him. "It's already under claim of a higher superior race one who will end any Klingon who even so much as thinks of touching one toe on this planets surface." She said stopping right before him. "Think you can manage to do that?" she asked.

"Yes." He said his jaw clenching, she nodded and turned to walk back to Galen and Khan.

"Good." Aria turned and threw a knife into the heart of each Klingon around the leader. The Klingon leader yelled in anger as he ran at her. Aria smiled when he swung at her and she caught his arm before ripping off his sleeve and stabbing the knife straight through the limb. He yelled out in pain as he dropped to his knees looking over the blade that stuck through the other side of his arm. "Proof to your leader I mean business." The Klingon stared at her wide eyed. "What are you waiting for, get out of my sight…" He instantly stood with a pained expression his arm shaking as he backed away from her.

"Are you the leader?!" He called retreating to his ship.

"No I'm the soldier… Trust me when I saw you'd rather deal with me then my leader." Aria said returning to Khans side. She turned and looked over the Klingon who was staring at her in pure fear. "Now go before I decide to rip open your throat and watch your blood steam into the cold nights air." The Klingon rushed onto the shuttle and Aria smiled as she watched it fly off into the night sky. "Well that's taken care of." She said as she walked back into their own shuttle.

"You know it's really scary…" Galen said making Khan look to him. "One minute she's sunshine and daisies and the next minute she's saying things like now go before I rip open your throat and watch your blood steam into the cold… Nights… Air…" He shivered. "It's weird how much I liked that." Khan quirked an eyebrow as he watched his lead medical officer walk back into the shuttle before doing so himself. He flew back to the shuttle bay and Galen stretched as he walked off the ship and headed into the turbo lift.

Khan sat back as he watched Aria check over the shuttle. He tilted his head as he watched her bend over and pick up a knife she had dropped. She stowed it away in her thigh holsters before stretching. He could sense it, her dissatisfaction from their run in with the Klingons. She had killed many but had battled none, and he knew for her that was a major let down. He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her body bringing her back against his chest as he rested his chin on top of her head.

"Dissatisfied?" he asked and she turned in his arms.

"Incredibly, I can't believe that Klingon really just ran away… What I said to him wasn't even that bad." He smiled as he pushed a strand of her red hair behind her ear. Aria gasped as Khan lifted her up and set her down on one of the panels.

"I could bring you satisfaction…" Before he could kiss her she rested her hands on his shoulders and pushed him back slightly.

"We… We have sex a lot."

"That sounds like a complaint." He said looking her over.

"It's just… I'm starting to feel like that's all you want from me."

"You're feeling used?"

"A little."

"What else is there for us to do?" He asked and she stared at him for a long moment.

"Never mind…" She said as she jumped off the counter. "I'm tired I'm going to go get some sleep." Khan watched her leave as he tilted his head.

-o-

AN: Check out Profile Page for a Wallpaper with Aria and Khan for this fanfiction.


	13. A Seperation

Khan sighed as he sat in the teleport room his elbows resting on his knees, his chin resting on his hands. It was clear to him Aria was feeling deprived in some way. He having deduced this from her denial to him. Still he didn't know why. Clearly something had really upset her in the shuttle. After all Aria didn't just turn her back on someone, not unless she was angry or sad and she didn't want the person who caused it to see.

"_We… We have sex a lot." _

"_That sounds like a complaint." He said looking her over. _

"_It's just… I'm starting to feel like that's all you want from me." _

"_You're feeling used?" _

"_A little." _

"_What else is there for us to do?" He asked she stared at him for a long moment. _

"_Never mind…" She said as she jumped off the counter. "I'm tired I'm going to go get some sleep." Khan watched her leave as he tilted his head. _

"She's feeling used…" He said thinking it out loud. "By me… Because we have sex a lot…"

"Didn't mean to intrude but did I hear your having sex a lot?" Khan scowled as he looked up at Galen who was smirking as he leaned against the teleport room doorway. "What's going on then?"

"Aria is upset with me."

"You sound confused when you say that." Galen said as he looked over his Captain and old friend.

"Back before, women used to just be happy having sex with me… Aria wants more." He said sitting back.

"Well of course she wants more Captain, she's not some tart." He said. "She's yours, in every sense of the word… She's your Revered, your dear, your esteemed, your treasure, your darling, your-."

"Yes I get it."

"And you're the same to her." Galen said. "She needs you to show it."

"She needs conformation?"

"No, she needs romance Captain." Khan looked Galen to see he was smiling. "She needs a romantic gesture…" Khan slowly nodded.

"She… She mentioned that she had fallen for me, in passing."

"Well of course she's fallen for you Captain, you're a fetching bloke aren't you?" Galen asked with a laugh before walking off. "Remember a romantic gesture!" he said as he disappeared into the turbo lift.

"A… Romantic… Gesture…"

-o-

Gabriel walked into his living quarters. Upon walking on the bridge to aid Kirk in the search for Aria Adne and Khan he had been asked to leave. When he had refused he had been taken away by redshirts. It seemed Kirk had watched the video and had hated what he had seen. Didn't he realize he had been ordered to question Aria Adne? Sure the torture part had been his idea but he knew there was no chance she would talk if he had asked nicely.

_Still… I did enjoy her screaming… _

Gabriel walked over to his desk and brought up the archive footage of his interrogation of Aria Adne. He made sure the Audio was off. After all sometimes her screams had gotten piercing and he didn't want anyone on the outside of his quarters to hear. He tilted his head with a smile as he watched himself take out a knife and start to slice away at her clothing.

"My favorite part…" He said to himself

-o-

Aria pulled on her boots unable to sleep like she had told Khan she would be doing. She had tried but when an Augment couldn't sleep they couldn't sleep. She was readying to go to the medical bay and see to Galen, maybe get more acquainted with the Irishman. In some ways he reminded her a lot of Scotty. Even though their accents were different they still had the same type of personality one she found it comforting. She got up and stretched before walking to the door that led out to the bridge and opening it. She stopped seeing Khan right before it.

"I didn't sense you." She said.

"I just got here." He said looking her over.

"Oh well… Hi." She said with a smile before going to walk around him. "I'm going to go see to Galen."

"Ariadne…" he said in his deep voice, and she stopped feeling his hand slipping into hers. She slowly turned and looked to him. "I understand why you are upset now…" he said. "You're more to me then you think… You deserve to have proof of my affections for you…" She smiled softly. "So… I have something prepared for you… To show you how much I do care for you…"

"You do?" she asked surprised.

"Yes… Can I show you?" she nodded with a warm smile and he led her to the turbo lift completely excited for her reaction. It hadn't been a small fete or easy to think up, but the hard work was worth it.

"What is it?" She asked.

"You'll see." He said with a smile as he held onto her hand. The doors opened and they walked out onto the weapons bay. Aria instantly smiled.

"Did you make me a new weapon?" She asked and he just smiled. "I love weapons."

"You'll love this more." They walked to one of the empty storage compartments and Khan punched in a code. The second the doors opened Arias breath hitched with in her throat, her hand tightened around Khans hand and he smiled more. "Proof of my affections." He said as she stared face to face with Gabriel Till a table full of weapons lined up next to him. She instantly reached forward and closed the Doors to the compartment. "Ariadne?" he asked in confusion as she ran off. Khan went after her and took a hold of her arm gently wheeling her around. "What's wrong?"

"That is!" She yelled tearing her arm from his grasp. "That's wrong on so many levels Khan!" He watched in confusion as she ran off to the turbo lift.

"Aria have you seen Khan?" Galen asked as he walked out and she ignored him as she ran onto the Turbo lift. "What's with her?" Galen asked as Khan rushed towards him.

"Aria!" Khan yelled as he just made it into the Turbo lift. Galen slowly looked around as he rocked back on his feet.

"I guess… Bad time." He said before he heard a strange noise coming from within the weapons bay.

"No." Aria said as Khan reached for her. "No don't touch me." She said slapping his hands away. "What was that?! Do you think that was funny!?"

"I… I thought it would show you how much a cared?" He asked completely confused by her reaction.

"To just spring on me a man who tortured me nonstop for a month!?"

"Okay… Okay so maybe it shouldn't have been a surprise." He said.

"It shouldn't have been at all Khan!" She said walking out onto the bridge. "I can't believe you did this."

"I did this for you to show my affections… I was trying to be romantic." He said in confusion as he followed her.

"You knew I wanted Gabriel Till-."

"Yes I did so I got him for you." He said with a smile and she instantly turned on him.

"You didn't let me finish, you know I wanted to get him myself! But no you didn't trust that I could handle it. So you used our spat today in the shuttle to justify you doing it for me. This wasn't about romance, or proving anything, this was about you not trusting in my abilities, and you getting to seek vengeance for what was done to me!"

"You're reading too much into this!"

"Uh excuse me mum and dad?" Galen asked making them look to him.

"What?" Khan and Aria asked at the same time and Galen felt like running for a moment.

"What. Is. It?" Khan asked his patience wearing thin.

"Why is there a pasty white hair bruised federation man in a storage unit of the weapons bay?"

"I was proving my affections to Ariadne…" Khan said looking to the woman who as glaring daggers into him.

"Right and you thought a pasty federation man would please her why?" Galen asked.

"He's the guy who tortured me for a month…"

"Oh captain…" Galen said shaking his head and making Khan look to him. "Not what I meant at all…"

"You were a part of this!?" Aria asked.

"That's my queue to run." Galen said quickly walking out.

"I can't believe you." Aria said looking at Khan. "Get rid of him, slit his throat, I don't care, I don't want to see him." She said walking into her quarters. Khan quickly followed and she sighed. "Get out!"

"No we're going to talk this through. I had no other intentions by taking Gabriel Till other than to prove my affections for you… I know you wanted vengeance but I know you were also unsure of how to do it so I wanted to help."

"I can't talk about this right now." She said her hand going to her chest as she turned away from him. Khan tilted his head as he bowed his head. He could hear it her heart. It was pumping faster and harder than he had ever heard it. Her breathing was rushed as well coming out ragged.

Aria bowed her head forward. Everything was coming back to her. Everything that had happened in the white room. The cutting. The breaking. The teeth pulling. The burning. All that pain, all her screaming, all of Gabriel's smiling it was rushing back into her head and she couldn't take it. It was coming in flashes, flashes that made her head feel like it was splitting open.

"I need you to leave… Please leave…" Aria said not wanting him to see her come undone.

"Ariadne…" He reached for her and she moved away from his touch.

"Don't touch me…"

"You're having a panic attack." He said.

"No… No… No I don't panic." She said.

"I should have warned you…" Khan said. "This wasn't my intention." He said his eyes wide.

"Alright fine it's fine…"

"Ariadne-."

"Just leave!"

"Can't do that." He said moving forward.

"Khan I'm serious." He moved his arms around. "Stop what you're doing?" she asked pushing against him. He titled his head. Her mind was so far away, and she was so distraught, nearly all her power had been taken away. "Get off."

"No." he said pulling her to her chest. "Ariadne you need to calm down…" he said. "You need to slow your breathing and your heart rate, even us augments can enter cardiac arrest which you are very close too…" Her heart was beating so fast there was hardly any spaces between the beats. Not to mention his own chest had begun to ache from her own pain. "Shh…" he said.

"What the hell is going on here?" Galen asked rushing in. "The medical scanners have gone off the wall."

"It's Aria…" Khan said looking to him.

"You're making it worse Captain." Galen said grabbing his arm and hoisting him away from Aria who dropped to the ground not being able to stand. "Leave her to me." Khan went to move forward but stopped when the doors closed. He stared at them for a long while his eyes wide.

"Aria…" Galen said picking her up and laying her down on her bed. "You need to calm down."

"My arm." She said through gritted teeth. "It's numb."

"Well that's because your heart is giving out, don't worry I can help you." He said quite calmly. He stretched out her arm and pushed up her sleeve.

"No…" she said trying to pull her arm away. "Stop!"

"I'm not going to hurt you." Galen said. "This isn't like before, I'm your kind, I'd never hurt you." Her eyes shut tightly the pain in her chest becoming nearly too much to bare. She took a deep breath as her mind slowly became heavy. "There we are… Let it work…" Galen said pulling the syringe out of her arm. She felt her heart beat start to slow and Galen smiled as he put a reader on her temple. "There we are lass…"

"Don't… Don't let him kill him…" She said softly as her eyes slowly drifted close. "Please…" Galen slowly looked over the young woman who lay before him. He stared at her for a long moment. Aria hadn't been the first Augment he had to treat for a panic caused heart malfunction. It was actually quite common in their race, the heart would pump and pump until it would explode in their chest. Still he had to wonder what would panic a woman he thought of having nerves of steel so. He slowly got up and walked out onto the bridge Where Khan was pacing.

"How is she?"

"Knocked out." He said. "Heart near exploded in her chest though… It will take a while for her heart to heal from this…"

"Thank you for doing what I couldn't, I don't know why I didn't call for you right away." Khan said.

"She… Clouds your mind… That's one of the downfalls and one of the great things of being in love." Khan looked to him quickly and Galen smiled. "So…" He looked off. "That bloke in the storage unit."

"Gabriel Till."

"Yes, he tortured wee Aria?" Galen asked.

"Yes."

"It must have been bad to cause that level of Post Traumatic Stress… Captain, what were you thinking?"

"I thought it would prove to her how much I care, by kidnapping the man who caused her such pain… I still think it's a romantic gesture whatever the outcome of tonight."

"Sometimes… and I say this with all respect… But sometimes you're just thick mate."

"I need to go have a chat with Gabriel Till…"

"Aria doesn't want you to kill him… She told me right before she went out."

"Fine…" Khans jaw clenched. He couldn't watch over Till without wanting to tear his throat out. "Watch the storage unit."

"Aye Captain." Galen said before walking off. Khan walked into Arias compartment and stopped seeing her lying on the bed one of her sleeves pushed up. He slowly walked over and sat at her side as he pulled the sleeve down and the covers over her body as he took her hand in his.

"I'm sorry Ariadne… I should have thought it through."

-o-

Kirk walked down the long hallway of the Dreadnaught Enterprise towards the living quarters of Gabriel Till. It was time to explain to the former Admiral and Captain what his place was on the ship. To Kirk his place was to stay put in his quarters and to only come to the bridge when summoned. He approached the door and stopped. It was dented out. He tilted his head and tried to open the doors with the key pad but thanks to the damage they wouldn't budge.

"Till you in there!?" He called. When no answer came he pried apart the doors as much as he could and peeked in to see the room was ransacked. He instantly pulled his communicator.

"Spock run a full scan of the ship for Gabriel Till." He said.

"_Running Captain….. There are strangely no signs of Gabriel Till upon the ship."_

"Pull archive footage of Tills room…" He ordered as he ran back to the turbo lift.

"_Pulling up archive footage and awaiting you Captain."_

When the turbo lift doors opened Kirk ran out onto the bridge.

"Captain on the Bridge." Chekov informed. 

"What's going on?" Spock asked.

"Tills room is ransacked and the doors are dented from the inside going out…"

"What could dent those doors?" McCoy asked as Kirk played the footage. They watched as Gabriel sat in front of a screen watching his interrogation of Aria. He was smiling as he looked it over with a tilted head. "That man enjoys his work far too much…"

"_My favorite part…" _Till said.

"Look…" Kirk said seeing someone Energize in the back of the room.

"You asked what could dent those doors?" Kirk asked seeing Khan walking up behind Gabriel. "Khan could dent those doors. Does someone want to explain to me how we did not know he came aboard this ship!?"

"Sir." Chekov said walking over. "I can explain this."

"Go." Kirk said.

"Like leave sir?"

"No like explain Chekov."

"One of the upgrades of the Dreadnaught class ships is discreet teleportation… We can Teleport in and out of places without being seen."

"Can we track where Khan came from?"

"No sir I'm afraid not."

"How the hell did he know where we were?"

"I do not know sir."

"Well I want you to find out."

"Yes Captain." He said with a nod before running off. Everyone watched as Khan grabbed onto Gabriel's shoulder and threw him across the room into the doors which dented under the pressure knocking him out. He then grabbed a hold of the back of Gabriel's neck and energized away.

"Why did he feel the need to Kidnap Till?" McCoy asked.

"Because he hurt Aria…" Kirk said.

"Would Khan really care about that?" McCoy inquired.

"Khan cares about his people… Seems to be the only thing he does cares about…"

-o-

"_Little Aria all alone… Must be used to that… Or at least feeling alone… I bet you wish Khan would ride in on a white horse and save you… Save you from the pain." She hissed as she felt him cut at her skin. "But he's not coming…"_

"_He'll find me." Her eyes shut tightly knowing what was to come for talking out of turn. Her head threw back as he stabbed the knife through her hand and twisted it. _

"_You don't learn very fast do you? He's not looking for you…" he cut her stomach and she hissed in pain. "He's not coming for you…" He cut her again and her eyes shut tightly. "He's not going to save you…" he cut her breast. "He's not even thinking about you!" He stabbed her other hand and she screamed as he twisted it. "No… No you're all alone… Again. I can do whatever I want to you… Anything…" his hand moved over her body. "At all." _

Aria took a deep breath as she shot up in bed as she took a deep breath. She looked around the room for a moment before relaxing.

"Just a dream…" She said to herself.

"Looked more like a nightmare." She slowly looked to see Khan walking to her a glass of water in hand. "Drink this…" He said handing it to her.

"How long have I been out?" She asked her jaw clenching.

"You were only supposed to be out for a day, it turned into three, Galen gave you a double dose worried about your heart." Her hand went to her chest.

"It still hurts…" She said confused.

"The heart is hard to heal…" Khan said looking her over. "Ariadne…" she slowly looked to him. "I'm sorry I should have thought things though."

"No I'm sorry I wasn't even angry with you… It was him, he… Scarred me. Everything came rushing back all at once. The second I saw him it was like I was back in that white room."

"Everything?" He asked.

"I remember… Everything." She said softly. "All of it." She took a breath before looking to him. "Thank you for doing what I couldn't… Thank you for kidnapping him for me… It's… It's a very sweet gesture. I can see that now that I'm calm. I'm sorry I scolded you for it… I promise I'll make it up."

"No you don't have to." He said with a near soft expression.

"Is he stil-."

"Alive, yes… Waiting for you whenever you're ready." He said. "Galen has him tapped to IVS to keep him from starving or dehydrating…"

"I can't do it… Not yet."

"You don't have to, now drink some water…" She slowly nodded and took a sip.

"Tastes different."

"It has nutrients in it, you haven't eaten in two weeks. Even us Augments can get malnourished without sustenance. Keep drinking." She nodded and took anther sip as she rubbed her chest. "Its going to be a few days until your heart is right again, so take it easy."

"I don't think I know how."

"You lay back, read a book, watch the battle archives-."

"All sounds boring, wait the mission, the mission is tonight. To get the Embryos."

"You won't be going." She stared at him.

"No no I'm fit for duty."

"I don't want to hurt your pride and I mean nothing ill when I say this but you're not… Your heart can't be put under any pressure it could explode if it gets worked up like that again in the condition you're in."

"My heart never pumps fast when I'm in battle or on a mission you know this."

"You're staying behind that's an order." She looked him over for a long moment her jaw clenching.

"Did you just pull rank with me?"

"I…" he took her hand in his. "I can't risk anything… Happening to you…" he said quietly before looking to her with an intense gaze. "Do you understand? I need you to be very safe… I need it Ariadne…" She slowly nodded.

"I just so badly wanted to be a part of it…"

"You will be, in a bigger way then stealing Embryos…" He smiled as he cupped her cheek. "You're the genetic mother of our rebuilt race… They will be, because you are." She looked to him with a soft expression.

"Just the girls…"

"And what amazing women they will become… I almost feel sorry for the boys, they won't stand a chance against the women, how will anyone reproduce?'

"Hey… We got together didn't we?" she asked with a smile as she poked his chest.

"Yes and wasn't it easy you only tried to kill me how many times?"

"Oh I never tried…" she said with a smile. "If I did you would be dead."

"Galen is right, it's a good thing you were raised by humans if you had been raised by augments you would have killed me for being inadequate." She smiled as she took her hands in his.

"Trust me when I say…" She said as she slowly pulled him onto the bed. "You are in no way…" she kissed him deeply. "Inadequate…" Khan kissed her deeply as he cupped her cheek.

"Wait your heart can't pump that fast..." he went to pull away and stopped when he felt her hand move over the bulge between his legs.

"We'll just have to go nice and slow then won't we?" She asked and he pulled back before the connection could build. Aria smiled softly as she sat up in the bed and looked him over. "No?" She asked with an innocent look.

"No… Temptress…" She laughed and he smiled as he watched her cover her face and fall back in bed.

-o-

Galen sighed as he walked out of the turbo lift doors. He was going to see to the prisoner. Each day it was getting harder and harder for him to walk into the room and keep the man alive. He after all had tortured Aria for well over a month. He didn't know Aria well, but she had saved him from that hospital, so he knew she was a good person. And for her to go through something like that at the hands of a weak human made his blood boil.

"Here we go… Don't kill him… Don't kill him." He reminded himself as he opened the door to the storage facility. At the sight of him Gabriel yelled through his gag and Galen just smiled. "How are we today?" Galen asked walking over and checking the IVS. "You look good, a little dirty from all that sweating but good all the same." He looked over Galen who was glaring forward as he sat perfectly still. Something didn't feel right to him. He took a deep breath and stopped tasting a strange metallic tone to the air. He slowly looked down to see a puddle of blood beneath the prisoners chair. He moved around the chair and froze to see one of Gabriel's hands free of the cuffs. Before he could react Gabriel stood and pulled the Phaser from his hip and stunned him. He ripped the gag out of his mouth with a glare.

"Intelligent race my ass." Gabriel said before running off.

Khan smiled as he pushed a strand of hair away from Arias eyes. They were just enjoying one another's company. Khan thankful that Aria had recovered from her cardiac arrest. Aria thankful that Khan didn't think less of her for going into cardiac arrest.

"_Khan!"_ Khan sat up hearing Galens voice coming from his communicator.

"Galen what is-."

"_The prisoner has escaped!"_

"What?" Khan asked standing quickly. Aria went to move and he set a hand on her shoulder. "No stay here." He said before running off. She tried to stay put but after a few seconds all she could think was if she didn't do something they were screwed. She quickly got up pulled on her boots and rushed from the room as she pulled her thigh holster full of knives from her desk. As she ran to the turbo lift she strapped them to her thighs.

"Khan is Galen alright?" she asked through her communicator.

"_Fine we're scanning for Till now he may have already escaped."_ He said as she rode down the turbo lift.

"Any idea where he is yet?" She asked.

"_He's heading towards the Teleport room."_ She stopped the turbo lift and ran out onto that level.

"I'm getting him."

"_Absolutely not I told you to stay put_!"

"And I didn't listen." She ran into the teleport room and jumped out of sight right by the door. The second Gabriel ran in she pulled one of her knives and set it against his throat. "Hello Till." She said her jaw clenching. He slowly set his grey eyes upon her and she felt her heart start to beat fast. "On. Your. Knees." She said her teeth slightly barred.

"Funny, I was about to say the same things to you." He backed fists her across the face before grabbing her throat and slamming her up against the wall. "Hello darling, miss me?"

"Not in the least."

She head budded him and he cried out in pain as blood flooded from his nose. She then grabbed him and threw him out of the teleport room making Khan and Galen jump back as he slammed into the wall and fell to the ground with a yelp. They watched as Aria ran over grabbed onto his head and hoisted him up onto his feet. He went to punch her and she parried the hand before breaking his arm out right. He screamed in pain as he dropped to his knees.

"Not fun is it?" She asked grabbing him by the chin and lifting him to his feet once more. "Having." She punched him. "Your bones." She punched him in the stomach. "Broken." She grabbed onto his hand and crushed it within hers and he screamed once more as he dropped to his knees staring at his twisted hand. She kicked him in the stomach and he flew back into the wall before dropping still to the ground. Aria took a deep breath as she rubbed her chest and backed up into a wall.

"Strap him to a metal table… Thoroughly we don't want him escaping again." Khan said.

"Right." Galen moved forward as Khan moved to Aria who had grown pale.

"Are you alright?" He asked as he took her pulse.

"Fine… Just got worked up."

"Well slow back down…" He said and she nodded as she took deep breaths.

"Medi bots are bringing a medical table down now." Galen said as he looked over a hallway computer.

"Good." Khan said walking to him. Arias eyes closed as she leaned against the wall. She was tired, more tired than she had ever been. Not to mention the pain in her chest was worse then ever. She felt something come at her and gasped as Gabriel pulled one of her knives from her thigh and set it against her throat.

"No!" Khan yelled moving forward.

"Stop or I slit her throat!" Gabriel yelled and Galen instantly grabbed Khans arm halting his movements. "Yes… Yes we learned some things from young Aria here… Learned that if there's no blood in your veins you can't survive." He set his cheek against hers with a smile as he looked her over. "You're not looking so good darling." He said as they slowly backed up into the teleport room. "Now I'm leaving." Gabriel said his eyes locking onto Khans.

"Not with her." Khan said his jaw clenching as he and Galen slowly moved forward into the room they were backing up into.

"I'm sorry." Aria said to Khan and he shook his head.

"Not your fault." He said.

"No no it's his fault your sweetheart should have been taking care of you…" Gabriel said inhaling her sweet scent.

"You're not taking her." Khan said.

"Oh but I am… See me and her have tons of unfinished business…" He said punching an emergency code into the teleport computer. "Didn't get to finish what we started in that room huh darling?" he asked and Khans eyes narrowed as he watched Gabriel kiss her neck. As he did his eyes flickered to Khans and he couldn't help but smile. "I see that upsets you, I wonder how far you two have gotten as Augment sweethearts?" he set his mouth against her ear. "Did he pry your dimple knees?" he whispered and her eyes closed as he pulled her back onto the teleport pad. "Any minute now darling and we'll be whisked away… Take this time to say goodbye to your sweetheart… you won't be seeing him again." His head suddenly threw back as he yelled out in pain. Khan looked to see Aria had stabbed a knife into his thigh and twisted it. "You bitch!" She slammed her head back into his face he fell onto the pad more blood erupting from his nose. She kicked him off the pad before he could energize away.

"Aria run now!" Galen yelled seeing her start to energize. She went to rush off the pad to Khan who held out his hand but before she could get to him she lit up and was taken away.

"Khan!" he heard her scream.

"No!" Khan bellowed as he ran up onto the pad to see she was gone. "Trace where that is going!" Khan ordered turning.

"I have a trace going but we need to move the ship they can't find this planet."

"Bridge now!" he ordered as he started to run Gabriel held in his grasp as he did.


	14. Reunited

AN: guys I just really love writing the word Dreadnaught… So… I'm probs not going to stop… Just… Thought you should know… Love you all! Please check me out on TUMBLR under the screen name karategirl666

-o-

Kirk watched along with Spock as a body energized right before them. They were expecting Gabriel but froze seeing only Aria reaching forward her eyes wide.

"Khan!" She shouted before seeing where she was.

"Aria…" Kirk said. He stared at her wide eyed as she pulled a knife and pointed it at him.

"Send me back." She said her jaw clenching.

"Is the bugger dead?" She took a deep breath as Scotty and McCoy ran into the room. Aria's expression softened slightly as her eyes set on Scotty. "Lass?" he asked his eyes wide. He went to move towards her and she held the knife up once more making him stop.

"Clear the room I'm going back." Aria said.

"Can't let you do that Aria." Kirk said.

"You don't let me, I do, understand?" she asked.

"Lass put the knife down."

"I'm going back." She said ignoring Scotty.

"We couldn't send you there even if we wanted to…" Kirk said and her eyes widened slightly. "Please Aria… Put the knife down."

"Why?" she asked. "So you can strap me to a metal table deplete me of my blood and question me about Khan?"

"I would never do that."

"Well it wouldn't work anyways." She said softly as her other hand went to her chest and started to rub it.

"Are you alright?" McCoy asked taking in her pale state and sunken in eyes.

"I know how to get back, just clear the room and I'll leave."

"I can't do that-."

"You will do that." Aria said. "Because if you don't I will kill every single living being aboard and take the ship for myself."

"Lass-."

"You shut up." She said moving forward and putting the blade to his throat.

"Whoa now." Kirk said as everyone pulled phasers and pointed them at her.

"Lass…" Scotty said softly feeling the cold knife against his throat.

"I don't know you…" She said with fierce eyes and a clenching jaw. "Now get..." She pushed the knife into his throat and he instantly backed up as it nicked him. "The fuck away from me." She pushed him away and he stumbled back into Kirk who caught him.

"Clear the room." Kirk said his jaw clenching.

"Captain-."

"I said clear it." Aria took a deep breath as she watched everyone walk away from the room. She tilted her head when she saw Kirk refused to leave.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"I want to talk to you before you leave." He said.

"Weapons toss them." She ordered and he nodded as he took his phasers off and threw them aside.

"So… Where's Gabriel?" Kirk asked as she moved past him to the panel.

"Till is with my Captain most likely." She said.

"Why have you come?"

"I didn't come here willingly… Till, he tried to escape instead of him being Energized I was… Trust me I do not want to be here." She said punching a code into the teleport panel. As she did Kirk let his eyes go over her. She didn't look well, not at all. In fact she looked a little grey.

"Are you alright Aria?" He asked.

"Fine." She muttered as she coughed while rubbing her chest.

"Has Khan been taking care of you?"

_It doesn't look like it… _he thought.

"Better then you ever did." She said glaring into him.

"I deserved that." Kirk said with a nod as a buzz sounded. Aria looked to the teleport panel to see where she had planned to beam was no longer there. Khan had moved the ship.

_Has he deserted me?_

"Aria?" he asked seeing a look of panic come over her features. She slowly looked to him as she deleted the geographic history of any planet they had ever planned to beam upon so they couldn't look back and find Vaquitas. "Are you alright?"

"Why do you care?" she asked walking away from the panel unsure of what she should do.

"You were my battle expert, a loyal member of my crew-."

"Oh so you think I was loyal now? How quickly you flip back and forth."

"Aria I let my grief and my vengeance blind me, and I am sorry for that but isn't that what you're doing right now?"

"You know I haven't heard a thank you yet." She said her jaw clenching. "For saving your ass." His expression softened. "They only nearly bled me dry a hundred times, while making the serum used to save your life."

"Thank you Aria, and I'm sorry I ever believed you were dead."

"And what of my people, are you sorry for them? You blew them up after all!" She shouted.

"We didn't blow them up, those were just the torpedoes in the hull of the Dreadnaught Vengeance… I don't know if they're still alive but I didn't kill them-."

"You're a part of the federation if they are dead then you did in fact kill them."

"What happened to you?" He asked softly as he looked her over.

"What happened to me?" She asked with a cynical laugh. "Well let's see… I was cut hundreds of times, had needles pushed under my nails, had every single bone in my body broken over and over again, I was lit on fire, I was prodded, and poked, let's see what else was there?" She asked herself looking up in thought.

"I'm sorry that happened to you I really am but that doesn't justify-."

"Oh it very much does." She said walking to him. "Your race is cruel, hostile, petty, weak, and pathetic. You don't deserve the gifts bestowed upon you."

"Now you sound like Khan."

"Good." She said her eyes fierce before she set her hand on the panel and bent over as she made a pained noise.

"Aria…" He moved towards her and she pointed her knife at him.

"Don't come near me!" She shouted.

"I really hate to disobey orders but some ones heart rate in here is flying off the wall." McCoy said walking in with his medical tablet. Arias eyes closed, the room was spinning, and her chest was throbbing. She could hardly take in a breath, she was panicking now. She had lost contact with Khan. She was separated from him, and she was terrified.

"Aria." She fell back to the floor as her chest heaved. McCoy rushed to her side as did Scotty who had been watching from the door. Kirk moved forward and took the knife from her hand as he undid the thigh holsters and tossed them aside.

"Don't… Don't fucking touch me." She said her head moving from side to side as she took ragged breaths.

"She needs to calm down." McCoy said as he started to give her syringe after syringe of sleeping draft. After twenty she took a deep breath and McCoy smiled seeing her heart rate had started to slow.

"Lass… I'm so sorry Lass." Scotty said looking her over as he cupped her cheek as McCoy continued to give her syringe after syringe of sleeping draft until her eyes finally closed.

"Take her to the Brig." Kirk said and a group of red shirts moved forward cuffing her hands before lifting her onto her feet and slowly dragging her away.

"It's not needed." Scotty said.

"No it is." Kirk said. "While she's in there, she'll be more likely to listen… Maybe you can talk some sense into her." Scotty nodded quickly following the red shirts.

-o-

"She's probably dead by now." Gabriel said with a smirk.

"Shut your mouth or I will rip your bottom jaw from your skull." Khan said with a dangerous look. "Gag him."

"Gladly." Galen said moving forward and putting a security gag over Gabriel's face. If he even tried to move his tongue it would electrocute him.

Khan shook his head as he rubbed his chest while looking over a panel. There was a deep pain throbbing from his heart, and he knew he was feeling whatever panic Aria was. He also had a fear, and he knew that too was from Aria. She thought he had deserted her and the knowledge that she felt that way nearly brought him to his knees. She was all alone. All alone, and he hated it.

"We're almost to our destination." Khan said bringing the ship to a stop. "We need to discuss what we're going to do." He said turning to Galen.

"Well we have to get the lass back." Galen said. "I hate to say it because I'd love to see Aria torture this prick but I think we should make a trade. Till for Aria."

"Yes… But how to make the exchange."

"Not teleport to teleport. Then they could track us like we tracked them."

"Agreed…" Khan said his jaw clenching.

"Captain…" Galen said seeing his anger bubbling. "It's alright."

"No it's not alright!" Khan bellowed before moving forward and back fisting Gabriel across the face sending him sprawling to the floor bloodied and knocked out. "I can't… I can't function without her!" He yelled kicking Gabriel in the stomach and sending him flying across the room.

"It's the downfall for us when finding that special someone we connect to… You need one another… It's… It's like soul mates Captain. Which is what you two actually are… Genetic soul mates."

"I have to get her back…" Khan said.

"And we will… We just need to figure out how to go about the trade."

"We could man a shuttle and pick her up."

"No they could lock it down."

"Fine they fly a shuttle with Aria here we fly a shuttle to them, if they lock us down it gets them nowhere and we start all over again because we'll have whoever flew their shuttle." Galen smiled.

"Now that's a plan."

"Move ship forward warp speed, let's make this deal." Khan said as he sat down in the Captains chair while Galen moved to the pilots seat. "I'm coming Ariadne…"

-o-

_I'm coming… Ariadne…_

"Khan?" Aria asked softly as her eyes opened. She slowly looked around a white cell to see he was nowhere in sight. But she had heard him. Heard his voice as clear as day.

"He's not here lass." She sat up and looked to the barrier of her cell to see Scotty sitting in a chair on the other side.

"What the hell do you want?" She asked and he shuddered at her deadly glare.

"I want many things… Above all Lass, I want your forgiveness."

"You have it, now will you go?" She asked and he shook his head.

"I don't have it I can see it clearly… I'm sorry I knocked you down on the Dreadnaught vengeance."

"Its fine you were under orders." She muttered looking off. Her jaw clenched remembering the way she had pulled a knife on him.

"That's not an excuse lass I'm-."

"How's your neck?" She asked softly as she looked down at her hands. Scotty smiled softly.

_She still cares… At least that's something…_

"Got a plaster." He said tilting his head so she could see the band aid. "You didn't cut deep."

"Good…" She said softly.

"I thought…" his voice broke and she looked to him. "I thought you were dead lass. I… I set up your funeral and everything… I should have asked to see a body…" he had a pained expression and she slowly stood. "But… How could I bring myself to see you dead?" he asked. "I… I kept thinking of the strangest things… You painting my nails…" he gave a watery laugh as she walked to the barrier and he stared down at the floor. "How you used to try and braid my short hair… Or the way you'd have me sing that song to you when you couldn't sleep… Remember that song it was called-."

"Sleep song…" She said softly and he looked up at her to see she was resting a hand on the barrier.

"Horrible name for a lullaby."

"But I loved it…" she said softly.

"I don't know how I'm a retched singer." She laughed softly and he smiled. "It was the song I had played at your funereal…" she saw pain flicker across his face. "Lass if I had known-."

"I know Scotty…" She said softly. "I know."

"I'm so sorry Lass… I'm so sorry."

"It's okay Scotty…" she said with a soft expression as a tear fell down her cheek.

"Nothing like that is going to happen to you again."

"I know." She said.

"I won't let it."

"No…" She said her jaw clenching. "No… Khan won't let it." He looked her over for a long moment.

"You trust him?"

"Completely…" She said with a soft expression.

"Lass… Has something happened between you two?" She stared at him for a long moment before turning away and walking back to her bench. "Lass?"

-o-

"Sir…" Sulu said seeing a Dreadnaught Class ship form before them out of warp. Kirk took a breath realizing it was Khan.

"Sir, the Dreadnaught Resurrection is haling us." Uhura said.

"Security." Kirk said into his Com. "Have Aria Adne brought up to the bridge."

"Captain they've locked all weapons on us…" Sulu said.

"Not a problem." Kirk said.

"The last time I heard you say that you were cheating at the Kobe Hachi Maru." Spock muttered.

"Not cheating, just prepared."

"You said that as well." Spock said and Kirk smiled.

"Sir they're haling us again." Uhura said.

"Patch them through on Screen."

"Aye Captain." He tilted his head as an image of Khan came on screen his eyes narrowing in on him instantly.

"Khan."

"Kirk…" He greeted. "I believe you have someone who belongs to me."

"I believe you have someone who belongs to me." Khan pulled into view a bloodied and bruised Gabriel who had a mechanical gag over his face. "Well… I see he's at least breathing." Kirk said as he watched Aria be brought in by the red shirts out of the corner of his eye.

"You've seen my hostage now let me see yours." Khan said.

"Aria is not a hostage." Kirk said.

"Let. Me. See. Her." Khan said his hand hovering over the controls of the weapons. If Aria wasn't in full view in a few seconds he was going to start firing. Kirk hadn't even raised his shields yet.

"Aria…" Kirk said. Khan took a deep breath as he watched Aria come into view.

"Aria… Are you alright?" Khan asked.

"Yes Captain." She said.

"You've been treated fair?"

"Yes Captain." She answered.

"More fair then you've treated Till…" Kirk said.

"Till has gotten more then what he deserves." Khan hissed his eyes narrowed.

"So… You have my man… I have your… Woman…" Kirk said and Khan tilted his head. "What are we going to do about that?"

"I propose a trade." Khan said. "We will both man shuttles to one another ships and return our hostages."

"You will come here and I will come there?" Kirk asked.

"Precisely."

"How do I know I won't be killed upon flying to your ship?"

"How do I know people won't try to kill me upon flying to yours?"

"That's fair…" Kirk said.

"Sir I do not propose you make deals with this man, the last time we did the Enterprise was nearly destroyed." Spock said.

"If you do not make this deal then I will destroy your ship right now." Khan said.

"Destroying this ship would destroy Aria." Kirk said.

"Then I will target your life support systems behind the archnar cell, you all need oxygen to live, Aria does not." Khan said. "So you can die and get nothing while I get everything I want, or you can take my deal get your man still live while I too get what I want. It's your choice how this plays out Kirk I'm good with either."

"I will fly over to your ship, you will fly over to mine." Kirk said.

"Good choice." Khan held Arias gaze for a long moment before the feed went dead and Aria took a deep breath before looking to Kirk.

"Guess you're going back…" He said. "Let's get you to the shuttle bay."

-o-

Khan walked along side Galen while holding onto the back of Gabriel's neck. They were heading to the shuttle bay.

"You will wait here to receive Aria from Kirk on my behalf. You do not have authorization to kill Kirk."

"Yes sir." Galen said. "It bothers me though…"

"I know, Kirk is giving her up far too easily…" Khan said. "Anything could happen so be aware and ready for anything."

"You too Captain." Galen said as he watched Khan walk through the shuttle bay over to an advanced weaponry outfitted shuttle. "I'll see you soon."

"As soon as he leaves go to the bridge and ready for combat just in case." Khan said as he walked into the shutle.

"Aye captain." Khan slammed Gabriel down into a chair before rushing up to the front and buckling him in before flying the shuttle out of the bay.

-o-

Aria stood beside Scotty her hands still cuffed in front of her. She was watching as Kirk looked over one of the shuttles.

"You could stay Lass…" Her head bowed. "I'd take care of you."

"I've done too much damage to return. You know that." She said holding her head up high.

"I miss you Lass…" She looked to him with a soft expression.

"I know…"

"I hate this… I was supposed to take care of you… I worry that Khan doesn't treat you well-."

"Khan protects me." She said quickly before looking forward. "He cares for me…"

"Do you care for him?" Scotty inquired and she stayed silent. "Lass I just… I want to know you're happy with him."

"I am… So don't worry about me."

"I should have taken better care of you."

"It's in the past."

"I wish it wasn't… If Bradshaw were here-."

"If Bradshaw were still here none of this would have happened…" Scotty looked to her. "In some ways it's bad that he died, in other ways, it's a good thing… As messed up as that sounds." She said softly as Kirk walked to her.

"Here's your ride Lass." She looked to Scotty as the door to the shuttle opened.

"I am sorry if I have disappointed you." Aria said softly and Kirk and Scotty looked to her in surprise.

"No lass… No it's me who has disappointed you." He moved forward and hugged her tightly. "Good Bye lass…"

"Good bye Scotty…" She said.

"Time to go Aria…" Kirk said and she nodded as she followed him onto the shuttle. She sat down in one of the chairs before Kirk walked up to the front and took off. After a long while Aria took a breath.

"So…" She said. "Was my service nice? Did you even attend?"

"I did." He said. "I gave the eulogy… Scotty couldn't pull himself together enough to do it himself… He was distraught… A lot of people were… I didn't know you had so many friends."

"I had no friends, if they were there it was to use my funereal to make connections."

"Scotty was your friend I was your frie-."

"You were my Captain and an awful one at that…" She muttered her jaw clenching.

"Khan is better?"

"He protects me."

"Is that all he does?" Kirk inquired and she looked to him with a dangerous gaze. "I'm not judging… You deserve all the happiness… Though if you ask me, Khan doesn't seem like the cuddle-up-in-front-of-a-fire type of guy."

"As opposed to you the sleep-around-with-anything-I-can-stick-my-dick- in kind of guy."

"Woo hoo…" Kirk laughed. "I missed that snarky streak I really did." He tilted his head as he flew into the shuttle bay of the Dreadnaught resurrection. "Who's the ginger?"

"Galen another Augment held captive and in pain by your precious federation."

"Well let's say hi." Kirk said.

-o-

Khans jaw clenched as he flew into the shuttle bay of the Dreadnaught Enterprise. A group of Red shirts stood next to the Scottish Engineer Scotty, and the first officer Spock. He came to a stop and opened his shuttle before getting up and walking to Gabriel who stared at him with a glare. Khan hoisted him onto his feet and locked eyes with him.

"Listen here…" Khan said. "Listen well… You will never be safe… For one day I will come for you to seek Arias vengeance…" He ripped the mechanical gag off his face and Gabriel screamed as it took a part of his cheek with it. Khan smiled as he looked over Gabriel's newly disfigured face. "Let that scar be a reminder of your sins…" He walked him over to the shuttle door and kicked him out before shutting it and walking back to the helm of his shuttle. He took off and flew out of the hanger surprised no one did anything to stop him.

-o-

Aria took a deep breath as she walked out of the shuttle Kirk at her side. Galen straightened up upon seeing her a medical kit in hand just in case.

"You alright Aria?" Galen asked.

"Yes, I'm fine Galen." She said as Kirk stopped making her do so as well.

"This is your one last chance for you to change your mind and stand at my side instead of Khan." Kirk said and she looked to him. "I do not wish to be your enemy Aria."

"You personally are not my enemy, it's the federation who is, and how ever long you choose to be at their disposal then yes you will be my enemy." He slowly nodded.

"For what it's worth… I am sorry. For all of it… I should have trusted you."

"Yes… You should have." She said before walking to Galen her hands still cuffed. She flew forward as Kirk stunned both her and Galen. He sighed as he watched them fall to the ground.

"Can't risk you firing on me as I leave… Again I'm Sorry." Kirk said before rushing onto his shuttle and quickly taking off. As he flew back to his own ship he passed Khan in the process who locked eyes with him. He gave him the same look he gave the night he attacked the captains and first officers at Star fleet headquarters, and what a chilling look it was. When they were clear of each other both flew the fastest they could back to their ships.

"What the hell." Khan said upon coming into the shuttle bay to see both Aria and Galen slowly getting up from the ground. He landed the shuttle and ran out.

"He stunned us!" Galen yelled in anger.

"Bastard." Aria said before turning to see Khan. "Khan-" His mouth crashed against hers as he set his hand on her cheek and wrapped an arm around her body.

"Are you alright?" he asked his forehead resting against hers.

"I'm fine." She said her hands still cuffed.

"Galen get these off of her then meet me up on the bridge." Khan said.

"What are you going to do?" She asked.

"Battle!" He yelled over his shoulder. Aria quickly followed the cuffs still on.

"Wait!" Galen yelled.

"What are you doing?" Khan asked as the turbo lift doors shut on them.

"You're not going into battle without your battle expert." She said.

"Your hands are still cuffed." He said.

"So? I could do this sleeping." She said before running out onto the bridge. She ran over to her panel and with her hands cuffed quickly put in an order for a defensive Phaser field just as the Dreadnaught Enterprise fired upon them. Aria smiled as her phasers stopped all of theirs. Khan watched as she then began to fire missile after missile into critical spots of the hull of the Enterprise. She heard a beeping noise and ran to the scanners her eyes narrowing. "They're running… Cowards!" she shouted running back to battle station. She fired their plasma rays just as the Dreadnaught Enterprise hit warp. She smiled when she saw they hit their thrusters just before they disappeared. "I don't know if anyone's dead, but they'll be stranded for a while wherever they are…" She said turning to look to Khan and Galen who were staring wide eyed at her.

"You know…" Galen said. "I think this will become a legend we tell the future augments, about how Aria nearly took out a federation ship with her hands literally tied."

"That's just how I roll." She said with a smile and Galen laughed as he walked up to her and quickly undid her cuffs. Khan walked over and took her hands in his as he looked over the cuts around her wrists from struggling against the cuffs. Galen smiled as he watched Khan pull her into his arms.

"Aw… That's sweet…" Khan kissed Aria deeply. "Aw… That's gross…" He said before walking away. "I'll be in the medical bay when you two are done snogging." He muttered as he walked into the Turbo lift.

"You ignored my orders." Khan said cupping her cheek as his thumb brushed over it. "I asked you to stay put, if you had, you never would have ended on that ship."

"I know… I'm sorry…" She said softly.

"You're so stubborn." He said with a serious look.

"I just wanted to stop him from getting away… He still did."

"I gave him something to remember you by." He said with a smile and she tilted her head. "We'll get your vengeance someday."

"If I had just killed Till the second I saw him, none of this would have happened. I've learned a lesson though."

"Which is?"

"Kill first… Always."

-o-

Kirk stood by as he watched McCoy work over Tills cheek which had been split open. Until he fixed it Till wouldn't be able to talk, and he needed to know what the man had found out aboard the Dreadnaught resurrection. Especially after the full scale attack that had been brought against them as they fled.

"Well you're all fixed…" McCoy said. "But you'll have a permanent smile on the left side of your face for the rest of your life… Unless you get the federation to pay for some good plastic surgery…" Gabriel's eyes narrowed on the doctor.

"So what do you know?" Kirk asked.

"It's going to be hard to understand him until he learns to talk again with that stiff left cheek of his." McCoy said before walking over to some other people hurt in the attack.

"Tell me everything you learned."

"Well Arian khanare in relashunship…" Kirk tilted his head.

"What was that?" he asked.

"I said… Aria… and… Khan… Are…" he sighed in frustration before snapping. "They'refucking!"

"What a delicate way to put it but I pretty much already knew they were getting it on… What else do you know?"

"There's… Third…Augyment."

"Third Augment, yes knew that as well. I saw him his name is Galen. Did you learn anything useful?" His jaw clenched. "Guess not…" Kirk muttered walking off.

"I have something useful…" McCoy said and Kirk walked to him. "I… I put a tracker on Aria…"

"You what?" Kirk asked.

"I put a tracker device under her skin while she was knocked out… Don't tell Scotty, he'll murder me."

"Is it online?"

"Should be." McCoy said nodding.

"You're a genius Bones you really are!" He said clapping him on the back.

"Captain there is nothing we can do." Spock said. "The Dreadnaught Resurrection has crippled us until repairs are made, we cannot make chase."

"Just have to put a damper on everything don't ya?"

-o-

Aria took a breath as she walked out of the shower. She felt ten times better. Her wrists had healed, her heart no longer ached. All in all she felt amazing. She wrapped the towel around her body and smiled seeing Khan sitting at her desk.

"Feeling better?" he asked.

"Incredibly." She said with a smile as she reached over her shoulder to scratch an annoying itch on her shoulder blade. She walked over to Khan and sat on his lap as he looked over some archive footage. His arm encircled her waist as his eyes moved over her. "What is it?" She asked.

"I don't want to press you but, did you learn anything while aboard the ship?"

"Yes." She said. "I wasn't sure how to bring it up to you because, I truthfully, don't know if it was a lie." He raised an eyebrow.

"What is it?"

"Kirk told me that our people weren't in the Dreadnaught vengeance, that Spock had removed their bodies from the torpedoes… They were alive when the USS Enterprise docked for repairs but he doesn't know after that…" He slowly nodded and looked off.

"We should look into it." He said and she nodded as well.

"Wouldn't it be great though?" she asked with a smile. "If they were still alive."

"It would… we would have truly everything we needed, every resource, to start anew." He pushed her damp red hair over her shoulder and looked over her slender neck. She felt as though he was taking a study of her.

"Are you alright?" they asked at the same time.

"Am I alright?" he inquired.

"Yes, I feel as though you're taking a study of me…"

"There's… Something different about you…" he said softly as he looked her over. "Something I can't put my finger one… You… Have changed… Physically… You feel different."

"I don't feel different." She said reached to scratch the annoying spot on her shoulder once more. Khan tilted his head.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I have an itch." She said like it was obvious.

"We don't have itches…" he said and she sat up thinking about it. In all her life she had never had to scratch at something because her skin had an itch. "Let me look…" she nodded as she turned on his lap. He pulled her hair away and tilted his head seeing a small light illuminated under skin. His eyes narrowed as his jaw clenched. "You're different alright, They low jacked you."

"What?" she asked quickly getting up and running to a mirror. She turned around and looked over her shoulder to see a small light. "Fucking Bastards." She said her eyes narrowing.

"We need to cut it out."

"Go ahead." She said pulling one of her knives for him.

"We could have Galen do it."

"I'd prefer you to do it." She said and he nodded walking over. "Besides Galen is sleeping for the first time since waking up."

"Here sit down." He said taking the knife and she nodded as she sat up on the counter to the side so her back could face him. She held her towel to her chest as she waited. "Take a breath…" She smiled remembering that was what he had said to her the first night that they had made love. She took a deep a breath and Khan sliced at the skin on her shoulder. She hissed in pain and Khans eyes flickered to her reflection to see a pained expression.

"Sorry."

"It's fine just get this out of me." He nodded as he used the tip of the knife to pop the chip up out of her muscle and into his hands. He set it aside before grabbing a towel and wiping the blood away. When it was gone he smiled seeing her shoulder had already healed. "Is it gone?" she asked.

"Yes." He said crushing the small chip. Aria slowly nodded as she stared out at her room. "The chip is destroyed…" he said sensing she was bothered. "You don't have to worry…"

"It's not that… I… I saw Scotty again." He leaned against the counter as she sat forward on it.

"What was that like?"

"Sad… He cried… He felt guilty… He kept… Apologizing."

"Did it mean something to you?" She nodded.

"He's the last link I had to Bradshaw…" He looked to her for a long moment.

"When… Whenever you talk about Bradshaw… You look…" she gazed to him. "Almost guilty." She gave him a sad smile before looking off.

"He noticed the building falling over us before I did… He pushed me out of the way and took the brunt of the rubble… I was only scraped by a few scrap pieces… If I had been paying better attention I could have noticed it and pushed him out of the way… He would still be alive and I still would have been as well…" Her jaw clenched. "I keep replaying that moment over and over again trying to think what I could have done differently, and there are so many things…"

"Did you get to say goodbye?"

"Yes…" she said softly with a haunted look. "I dug him out, and…" her voice broke and she shook her head. After a long moment she smiled softly. "If he had lived… He would have liked you…" She said before jumping off the counter and walking away.

"I think the first Augment born should either bare the first name Harold, or the last name Bradshaw…" She stopped at his words and slowly turned to look at him. "Or maybe we should just name him Harold Bradshaw."

"You mean it?" she asked.

"If he was even just an ounce as extraordinary as you make him sound then it's a fitting name for an Augment." She smiled softly as he crossed the space between them and kissed her deeply. "I hate that I've brought you so much pain…"

"I don't blame you anymore…" She said softly as she wrapped her arms around him tightly and Khan felt an immense amount of relief.


	15. Pulling Rank

Khan looked over Aria as she slept soundly at his side on the bed. She looked incredibly peaceful in that moment. Like she had no burdens upon her shoulders. He pushed a strand of red hair out of her face and blinked when she took his hand in hers as she slept. He pulled her into his arms and Aria sighed in her sleep as she laid her head on his chest. In all his years he never thought he'd find someone he was just able to sleep with. Still it was time to rouse they after all had a big day ahead of them. It was time to land the ship back on Vaquitas and go to steal the future of their race from a Federation Embryo bank.

"Ariadne…" he said kissing the top of her head.

"Mmm… What?" she asked snuggling into him.

"It's time to wake…"

"No it's time to sleep." She said softly and he couldn't help but smile.

"We have to land the ship upon Vaquitas."

"Let's do it later…"

"We have to do it now, we have to be stationary and ready for the plan…" her eyes slowly opened.

"We rob the Embryo bank in just a few short hours…" she said softly.

"Yes." He said and she slowly sat up and looked around the room. He could feel it her anticipation, then he knew it, she was going to ask him a question, one he had a feeling he would say no too.

"Khan?" She asked and he sat up as he wrapped his arm around her. "I'd like to help-."

"Your heart is still weak." He said as he pulled her silk camisole down to show between her breasts a light bruise. His hand ran over it and her eyes fluttered closed from the light caress.

"It's fine…"

"I care too much for you to risk you getting hurt on this mission…" She turned and looked to him with a soft expression.

"I'm fine…"

"Ariadne…" he said cupping her cheek. "I have seen grown augment men have their hearts explode in their chest when after a cardiac episode when they didn't take it easy…"

"I just hate being useless." He kissed her shoulder.

"You're not useless, in many ways this wouldn't be happening without you… It was your Idea after all."

"I should be helping-."

"You're the genetic mother of our future race you can't help more than that."

"I should be there…"

"Ariadne… Please heed me this one time." He said and she looked at his serious expression. "Stay on the ship while Galen and I get the Embryos we need…" she looked off and Khan rested his chin on her shoulder. "Ariadne… Please…"

"Okay…" She said softly as she turned and looked to him. He cupped her cheek in one hand before moving forward and kissing her deeply.

"Thank you…" he said and she nodded with a soft expression before getting up.

"I'm going to go get ready… to do nothing." He smiled as he watched her walk into her own quarters the doors closing behind her.

"So stubborn." He said with a smile before getting out of bed himself. In truth he felt guilty about the state Arias heart was in. It was he after all who had sprung Gabriel Till on her, even though he knew she suffered from some PTSD. After getting a shower he pulled on his uniform and walked onto the bridge.

"Landing upon Vaquitas now…" Aria said.

"We are ahead of schedule." He said.

"Gives you and Galen extra time to plan before leaving." She muttered.

"Oh the lass isn't happy." Galen said walking onto the bridge. "I know because of my keen sense of the female Augment mind." She smiled as she shook her head. "Yeah… She thinks I'm charming." He said to Khan who just shook his head.

-o-

Scotty sat at his desk in his quarters right off the engineering deck. He was watching old archive footage of he, Bradshaw, and Aria. She was near twelve from the pig tails she was wearing. She was smiling brightly as she chased him around the engineering room. Of the Starfleet academy. Looking at her happy face and bright eyed look he didn't know how she had gotten to the place she was now. Only thinking of war and Vengeance. It wasn't the Aria he knew.

"_It must be Khan." He said his jaw clenching. _

"_I miss you Lass…" She looked to him with a soft expression. _

"_I know…" _

"_I hate this… I was supposed to take care of you… I worry that Khan doesn't treat you well-."_

"_Khan protects me." She said quickly before looking forward. "He cares for me…" _

"_Do you care for him?" Scotty inquired and she stayed silent. "Lass I just… I want to know you're happy with him." _

"_I am… So don't worry about me."_

She had fallen for him and he wasn't sure how that had happened. Other then he was of her own race, one which was nearly extinct. Maybe she felt as though she had no other choice then to be with him. Like it was her final place she could find love. He shook his head, Aria wasn't that type of person. She settled for nothing. Still how could she have fallen in love with a man like Khan?

-o-

Arias jaw clenched as she watched Galen enter the transporter room. Khan was about to walk in after him but stopped feeling Arias anger hit him like a ton of bricks. He smiled and stopped turning to look at her.

"I leave you here not because of spite." He said and her jaw clenched as she looked off.

"Damn the connection…" He smiled as he cupped her cheek. "It… Is so dangerous…" She looked to him. "Khan If they catch you… You don't want to go to one of those white rooms…"

"I won't." he said before moving forward and kissing her deeply. Aria took a deep breath as her hands rested on his hips. "I will come back to you…" She slowly nodded.

"I'll be monitoring your frequencies…"

"Then I am in good hands…"He kissed her forehead before turning and walking into the transporter room. She walked over to the panel and waited for Khans say so.

"No kiss for me lass?" Galen asked.

"I will stab you…" She said in a sing song voice making Galen smile.

"On your orders." Aria said with a smile and Khan nodded as he and Galen kneeled on the transporter pad.

"Energize." She punched in the code and watched as Galen and Khan disappeared from sight. The second they were gone she sat down in the chair and began monitoring their frequencies while she set her communicator right before her in case of emergencies, though she knew Khan had ordered radio silence on her end.

-o-

Khan and Galen pulled their phasers as they slowly looked around a dim freezing cold room. Aria had sent them right down into the Embryo room. Khan patted Galens shoulder and made the signal that he was going off to get the supplies they needed. Galen nodded before looking for the best Embryo candidates. He was to pick out 200 candidates and he was going to be very choosey about who made the cut.

As Khan moved quietly through the facility he was surprised that he hadn't come across one security guard yet. He walked to the door of the supply room and punched in the code he had gotten off of the info database Aria had downloaded from the linking system. He smiled when the door opened with a hiss. He walked inside to see everything they needed to get started. He instantly moved forward and began to group everything together

Galen smiled as he opened his criocase and began to place vials of his favorite Embryos into their slots. As he moved around the room and took the chosen Embryos from their original places he felt quite accomplished. For the first time in a long time he had a purpose. For the first time in a long time it wasn't all about death, for the first time one of his captains goals had been life, and he knew he had Aria to thank for that. It was her plan after all. He checked over one of the tubes and halted for a long moment.

"No way…" He said softly. The door behind him opened and he turned expecting Khan he froze when he instead he saw a red shirt pointing a plasma ray at him.

"Freeze." He said his jaw clenching as he brought his Com out from behind him. Galen pulled a syringe and rushed forward sticking it into the neck of the red shirt who fired missing him by inches. Galen tackled him to the ground before injecting pure oxygen into his veins. The man gargled before dropping dead, blood leaking from his nose.

"Sorry mate." Galen muttered before he stood up straight and looked back into the room. "No no no…" He rushed forward seeing his criocase destroyed. "Shit." He pulled out his Com. "Captain?" he called.

Khan looked over his items to double check everything was there before pulling his Com at the beckoning of Galen.

"What is it?" he asked.

"_Sir I had some trouble, my criocase is destroyed along with 23 of the Embryos picked."_ Khans jaw clenched as he looked off.

"Do you have another one?" he asked.

"_I do back on the ship." _

"Then beam back and get it."

"_Someone needs to stay with the Embryos in case someone else comes, and you need to stay with the supplies… Sir… We need Aria." _Khan looked off as he contemplated what Galen wanted. He knew time was of the essence. _"Captain-."_

"Ariadne check in."

"Here." Aria said with a smile, she had heard the whole conversation and was standing aboard the transporter pad Criocase in hand.

"_You are to get the case." _

"Already have it." She said.

"Of course you do." Khan said with a smile as he shook his head. "You are to get Galen the Case and head right back understand?"

"Understood."

"_I mean it Aria." _

"Understood… Sheesh…" Aria said with a smile before using the Dreadnaught issue portable transport to beam herself away.

Galen smiled at Arias antics. He just knew she had been waiting to get called. In all honesty he wanted her on board this mission. It was after all her plan, and she was to be the genetic mother of the future of their race. She deserved to be there, it's in all honesty why he had left the other Criocase back aboard the ship, just in case. He moved forward and started to drag the body of the fallen red shirt back into the room and out of sight. He heard a click and looked over his shoulder to see a redshirt moving into the room. Before he could turn and look to Galen his throat was slashed and he buckled down to the ground.

"Delivery for Galen?" Aria asked moving into the room. Galen smiled as he jumped to his feet.

"Well done lass." He said with a smile. Before he could even move to get the other Embryos an alarm sounded.

"_They're coming, we are beaming back to ship now." _Khan said.

"We don't have the Embryos yet." Galen said quickly into his Com.

"_It's too late." _

"No it's not." Aria said into her Com. "The red shirts will head here first I'll fight them off while Galen picks the Embroys needed, when the coast is clear and Galen is back aboard our ship I'll return." Aria said.

"_No." _

"Khan this is our only chance." She shut off her Com. "Galen as first officer I am ordering you to continue with the mission."

"You're not the Captain."

"The Captain isn't thinking clearly I'm pulling rank and taking over this mission, now move." She ordered and Galen nodded quickly as he started grabbing the Embryos needed. Aria moved out of the room and closed the door, before pulling out her phaser.

"Ariadne you get back onto the Dreadnaught Enterprise it's an order!" Khan yelled into his Communicator for the fifth time. She wasn't responding which told him she had turned it off to ignore him. His jaw clenched as he beamed himself and their needed items onto the transport pad. He quickly ran to the panel and looked over Arias vitals. Her heart was steady, while Galens was the one under pressure. "Galen what the hell is going on?"

"_Aria is the middle of battle, I'm almost done getting the Embryos…" _

Aria parried a punch away before shooting a redshirt in the neck. She then kicked one in the stomach sending him flying across the room before. Her phaser was knocked from her hand and she pulled a knife before slitting two men's throats in one quick motion. She felt something behind her and turned quickly to see a knife wielding hand held in the grasp of Khan who snapped the wrist of the red shirt who had nearly stabbed her in the back. Before Aria could run and get her Phaser before more red shirts could come Khan gripped onto her arm and wheeled her around.

"Back. To. The. Ship." He said his jaw clenching.

"No." he yanked her closer to his body and her jaw clenched as pain spread through her arm.

"There is no, No." he said. "You will return to the ship. It's an order Ariadne." She tore her arm away from his grasp and walked back into the Embryo room.

"How are we looking?" Aria asked Ignoring Khans order.

"Almost done Commander." Galen said.

"How many are left? I want a count." Aria said.

"189."

"Get those last ten in there."

"I will I will." He said quickly moving about the room and grabbing what he needed. He stopped at one of the cases his eyes going wide as he read a genetic code. Aria moved past Khan back out into the hallway to keep watch.

"Aria." He said. "Get back to the Dreadnaught."

"No." She said as she pulled a knife and threw it into the chest of a red shirt rounding a corner.

"It's an order."

"I'm ignoring it."

"You're ignoring it?" he asked dumbfounded.

"Yes, because you aren't thinking clearly there for putting into jeopardy this mission and the future of our race." She said turning to him. "So I'm pulling rank as your first officer."

"Aria-."

"As of ten minutes ago you forfeited your role of Captain temporarily to me by endangering this mission, so listen here, you get back to the ship Khan… It's an order." His jaw clenched.

"Let's go!" Galen called.

"Good we all get to go together." Aria said moving past Khan into the room. She activated the portable transporter and smiled when they energized to the safety of the Dreadnaught Resurrection. When they made it onto the pad Aria rushed forward to the control panel.

"All med bots report to Transporter room." She said into the ship wide Com. "We'll need their help to get everything needed to the medical bag, Galen how long will the Embryos last in that Criocase?"

"Five hours at most but it's pushing it."

"Alright we'll get the criostands set up first." She said moving forward and grabbing what supplies she could before rushing to the Turbo lift. As she rode up it her jaw clenched. She couldn't believe Khan had pulled rank with her. It was him who had once said she was his equal. Who was he to think he could just order her about in such a way. Her jaw clenched further as pain throbbed with in her arm in which he had grabbed her to hull her away back at the facility.

-o-

Khan watched as Aria helped Galen set up the last growth tube. The only had ten which meant each grouping of Augments would be six months apart in age. But none saw an issue with it. Galen smiled as he brought an Embryo out of the Crio case. He had been hiding something since getting back from the Facility. Something important.

"Aria I think you should be the one to introduce the Embryo into the growth tube." Galen said with a smile.

"Me?" she asked.

"Yes… After all this Embroy is quite literally your little sister." She stared at the tiny tube.

"What are you saying Galen?" Khan asked moving forward.

"I replaced 15 of the Embroys I had already grabbed with 15 I found right at the end."

"Why?" Aria asked.

"Because the genetic code shown… Matched yours in every way… I found 15 of the 31 stolen Embryos."

"Are you sure?" She asked while Galen laughed and Khan stared at the tiny tube in his hand.

"I'm positive I don't even have to alter these they're already augments just waiting to be born."

"What's the chances of that?" Aria asked with a laugh.

"Very very slim." Galen said with his own laugh.

"We should wait to bring them to term." Khan said looking over the vial. "We want to make sure the growth tubes are working…"

"He's right… We should get these in the Crio cabinet right away though." Galen said taking the case over to the stasis cabinet. Aria walked over and watched as her genetic siblings were put into the large case along with the rest of them. Khan saw her warm expression as she looked over the vials upon vials of Embryos. When he was done Galen smiled and closed it up. "By tomorrow I'll have the first 10 augmented and ready to grow."

"Perfect." Aria said with a smile before walking off. Khans jaw clenched as he watched her. When she disappeared Galen walked to Khan.

"Go easy on her Captain…" Galen said making him turn to look at him. "She did the right thing. Even if it's not what you asked of her." Khan instantly walked off and Galen shook his head. "Mom and dad are fighting again…"

-o-

Aria stretched as she set her boots aside. It had been a good night. She had battled. She had helped ensure the future of their race. Everything was amazing, yet she felt uneasy. She knew it was because of Khan she could feel his irritation with her. But he had left her no choice. If he was looking for an apology he wasn't going to get one. After all, he was the one who had tried to pull rank with her first. The doors to her quarters opened and she sighed.

"You and I need to talk."

"No." Aria said.

"No?" Khan asked sick of hearing the word from her.

"Not until you calm down, no." Aria turned and looked to him.

"You ignored a direct order." He said.

"You gave me-no-no I'm not doing this." She said. "We both need to calm down and talk about this when we've had some time to mull it over a bit." She went to walk past him and winced as Khan gripped onto her arm in the same place he had before.

"We're going to talk about this now."

"Let go of my arm…" She looked to him when he didn't. "Khan you're hurting me, let go of my arm." He instantly relinquished it and she backed up as she rubbed her arm.

"I'm sorry." He said.

"I did what was right. Your feelings for me were clouding your judgment. If we had left when you wanted to the whole mission would have been blown and we wouldn't have had another chance."

"My judgment was not clouded."

"Yes it was and you know it was. You're way too protective of me Khan…"

"Well when I'm not you do things like get captured, or impaled or-."

"That's not fair." She said with a point. "The first time I was captured, and the one time I was impaled was because I was saving your ass." His jaw clenched. "Yeah you know I'm right."

"You need to start listening to me I'm not just your…" he searched for a word. "Your-."

"Yeah what are we exactly?" she asked her arms crossing over her chest. "Seeing as we're having a fight we mind as well lay everything out on the table."

"The point is I'm still your Captain." He said ignoring her.

"You once told me I was your equal." She said her jaw clenching.

"Then that is to say I am yours and you still pulled rank on me."

"Only when you pulled rank first." His jaw clenched.

"You… You don't listen!" he snapped.

"What this surprises you I haven't been listening to you since the first day we met! What, you thought I was just going to up and change when you decided to fuck me!?"

"You're so stubborn!" He yelled.

"Well get used to it because I'm not changing not even for you!"

"You could have been killed Ariadne…"

"So what people die every day?" he stared at her for a long moment.

"You don't realize it do you?" he asked. "How very important you are to me."

"How would I know, you don't show it to me."

"I show it to you." He said his eyes wide.

"How Khan?" she asked.

"Every time we are intimate, we link, that shows you how much I care." She rolled her eyes.

"Sex isn't enough Khan…"

"Are you not satisfied?" he asked confused, the link caused him to know when she was satisfied, and he was sure she was satisfied every time.

"Satisfied with the sex yes, but with us no?" He looked up in thought.

"That… Doesn't make any sense Ariadne... And nice change of subject."

"It wasn't a change of subject it all goes together!"

"I'm not the one in trouble here."

"No you are the one in trouble." She said.

"I'm the one in trouble?"

"Yes you're the one in trouble."

"No you're the one in trouble."

"Sorry no that's you." She said.

"How is it me I'm not the one who ignored a direct order?"

"You shouldn't have been ordering me about the in first place!" She yelled losing it. "You treat me like I'm just some crew member!"

"You are a crew member!" A flash of emotion flickered across her face as her jaw clenched and she looked off. "You shouldn't have disobeyed my order Ariadne…"

"Fine… I'm sorry…" she said her jaw clenching so hard he heard it pop. He could feel it, the anger rolling off of her in waves, with a just a hint of sadness. He tilted his head as he looked her over.

"I… I can't lose you…" he reached out and touched her cheek. Aria closed her eyes for a moment. "You're too important for all we have planned." Her eyes snapped open as she took a deep breath. "You will listen to me the next time I give you an order…"

"Yes…" she said before locking eyes with him. "Captain." With that she turned walked away.

"Where you going?" he asked turning quickly and her jaw clenched.

"Out."

"Out where?" he asked.

"Out there." she said pointing to the view screen where they could see the planet Vaquitas. "I have to clean up the bodies of the Klingons… I don't want their blood rotting the soil for when we start planting…" Khan walked and took a hold of her arm stopping her gently. Something had shifted between them he could feel it.

"What's wrong?" he asked looking her over and her jaw clenched. So many things were wrong in that moment. She had realized two very devastating things. One Khan didn't care for her nearly as much as she cared for him, she was just a crew member he spent his time with when he was lonely. Two, he was using her to expand their race, the only reason he was keeping her around was for her blood. "Ariadne what's wrong, tell me."

"Is that an order Captain?" she asked her voice shaking slightly.

"Why are you calling me Captain?" he asked.

"What else would I call you captain?" she inquired looking to him. "I am just a crew member after all." She tore her arm from his grasp before walking off. He could feel it as she walked away. Her devastation. Her feelings of betrayal. He wanted to reach out to her and tell her she was wrong, but the emotions she was feeling paralyzed him. He didn't know what to do or say, all he could do was let her walk away.

-o-

"What's going on?" Kirk asked.

"Captain on the bridge." Chekov said.

"Captain, the terrorists Khan, Aria, and the augment Galen have struck." Spock said. "Archive footage just came in. They robbed an Embryo facility and killed 20 men in the process."

"Bing up footage to screen." Kirk said and Spock did as he said. "Get Bones up here I want to see what he makes of this, more importantly I want to know what exactly they stole and why…"

"Yes Captain." Uhura said going to hail the Doctor.

"Everything they do…" Kirk said thinking out loud. "It seems so random… Yet none of it can be…" Spock nodded.

"An astounding deduction Captain."

"Always the tone of surprise Spock."

-o-

Aria dragged the last of the Klingon bodies over to a large pile she had assembled. She had hoped cleaning up the dead would keep her thoughts away from Khan. But her mind kept going to him. The way he had yelled at her. The things he had said that had cut her deeper than he could ever know. She couldn't get her mind off what had happened and it was maddening. She kicked the body to the base of the pile and stretched before taking out a lighter.

"Up you go…" she muttered lighting the bodies on fire. It would take three rounds of burning to break the bodies down, but it was worth it to just get rid of the stench and sight of them. She took a deep breath as she looked over her shoulder. Khan was coming, she could feel him. She instantly wanted to run away, she didn't want to see him, she couldn't even bring herself to look at him.

"I see you've started burning the bodies…" Her jaw clenched as her arms wrapped around herself.

"Yes, it will take three rounds, but the bodies will eventually break down… I'll do the next burning tomorrow…" she went to walk away to do the rounds of the ship. She wanted to make sure no damage had occurred during the short battle with the Dreadnaught Enterprise.

"Aria… We need to talk."

"I think we've talked enough for tonight If it's all the same to you Captain." His jaw clenched.

"Stop calling me Captain."

"I wouldn't know what else to call you sir." All she wanted to do was put some distance between herself and Khan. Why couldn't he let her do that?

"You could call me my name."

"It isn't appropriate for a crew member to call the captain of their vessel by their first name."

"You're not just a crew member to me."

"Not what you said a few hours ago _Captain_." She said her words dripping with Venom.

"I don't know what you want from me." She turned and looked to him.

"Nothing… I want nothing from you. Not anymore. You're just like everyone else." She said her voice breaking for a moment before her jaw clenched and she pulled herself together. "All you want to do is use me for sex and the resurrection of our race with my blood…"

"_I… I can't lose you…" he reached out and touched her cheek. Aria closed her eyes for a moment. "You're too important for all we have planned." _

He could see how she would have taken his words in such a way. In fact thinking back, he now took his words in the way she had. It did sound like he was using her. That the only way she was good to him was for her blood, and thinking back to other things he said for sex.

"I'm going to check over the ship…" she said quietly before turning and walking away. He hadn't even fought what she had said. He was really using her for sex and for her blood. She couldn't believe she had let herself get trapped in such away.

"Ariadne…" she stopped at his smooth deep voice. He slowly walked up behind her. He wanted to tell her how he felt. He did. But he didn't know how. He had never been in this situation before. Usually when there was a woman who had caught his interest all he wanted to do was bed her and move on. But with Aria it was different. He genuinely cared for her. Deeply cared for her. He set his hands on her shoulders and slowly turned her around. How could he tell her though? What could he say to get his feelings across? In his mind, it was better to just show her. He slowly moved forward and went to kiss her. A loud crack sounded and his eyes snapped open as pain began to throb through his cheek. It was in that moment he realized that she had smacked him. Smacked him so hard and so fast he hadn't even seen her do it. He slowly looked to see she was staring at him an unreadable expression.

"Don't look at me unless speaking to me about a mission. Don't talk to me unless to tell me about said mission. And Don't…" her voice shook. "Don't touch me… Ever. Again."

"I'm not using you Ariadne…" he said softly his cheek still stinging from the impact of her hand.

"I'm sure you said that to all the girls before me as well…" She went to walk away and Khan reached out and grabbed her arm wheeling her around. He had been grabbing onto her arms so hard and so frequently they were really starting to ache. She locked eyes with him for a long moment and he could see the anger and betrayal held within them. "Get… You're fucking hands… Off of me." He slowly relinquished his hold of her.

"You're angry… You have every right to be." He said looking her over. "Hit me, yell at me, take it out on me, I don't mind it, if it makes you feel better I don't mind it." He said and she stared at him wide eyed. She didn't understand it. She didn't understand him. "All I ask is why you do, you try to listen to what I have to say…"

"I don't want to hear any more of your lies." She said her eyes narrowing. "This was your whole plan wasn't it, from the first time you saw me on Kronos. When you realized what I was."

"Who you are Aria not what, you're a person not an object."

"Oh I am an Object. I always have been. I'm an object men seem to like to use to expand their cause, though I should congratulate you captain you're the only one who ever used me for sexual gratification. My life was perfect before you came along, in the way that I had one. I had friends. I had a family!" her voice broke. "I had a job I loved. Then you came along and it all went to hell! I should have taken my chances with Kirk." Khan rushed forward and gripped onto her arms. She winced in pain her arms were still sore from the last time he had grabbed her. "Let go of me…" She said pushing against him.

"You mean that?" he asked. "You'd rather be with Kirk then me!?"

"At least when he used me I didn't feel this way!" she shouted. "Now let go!" she said her eyes shutting tightly from the pain.

"You would rather be with that weak human then me!? You'd rather help the humans then your own race!?"

"That's not what I said… Stop…" she said the pain building in her arms, she felt as though they were being gripped between metal vices. "Let go."

"So what you're just going to leave again?" He asked shaking her. "You're just going to abandon our cause once more because you don't know how to handle your feelings towards me?! Just because you can't see how much I care for you! "

"Khan stop!" Aria yelled out in pain as the bones in both her upper arms shattered. Khan instantly let her go his eyes wide as he stared down at her. She took a deep breath as she felt the bones in her arms slowly begin to heal. After a moment she slowly brought her eyes up to Khan. "Yeah… You really care about me…" She said as she slowly stood her hands shaking from the pain in her arms.

"I'm sorry-." He moved towards her and she instantly backed away from him making him stop.

"Stay away from me…" She said softly before she walked away. As she left Khan looked all around. He couldn't believe he had done that. But at the mentioning of her going back to the humans, going back to kirk, he had been overcome by not only rage but crippling fear.

-o-

Khan took a deep breath as he walked into the medical bay. He hadn't slept the night before. How could he anytime he closed his eyes he remembered the way it felt feeling Arias bones shatter beneath his hands. In truth he didn't know how he was going to face her. After all she would be in the medical bay with Galen starting up their race. He heard her laugh and stopped before slowly walking into the room.

"Ah here's our fearless leader." Galen said with a smile as Khan walked over. Aria averted her eyes from Khan as she looked over the First Embryo which had been genetically augmented the night before.

"Have we introduced them into the growth tubes yet?" Khan asked.

"We were waiting for you." Galen said with a smile as he clapped him on the back.

"Well I am here, let's get this show on the road as they say." He said.

"Aria you do the honors." Galen said. Aria smiled softly as she looked over the Embryo. She slowly set the vial down into the entry slot before closing it. She then hit a button and watched as the Embroy was released inside the growing tube which was filled with a goo like substance filled with nutrients and anything a growing fetus would need. "Embryo is getting used to its surroundings…" Galen said looking over the readings with a smile. "Embryotic sack is accepting Embryo." They watched as a substance started to slowly grow around the soon to be first born of the new Augmented race. "Umbilical cord is growing… Umbilical chord is attached to nutrients… We…" He laughed. "We have life." Aria laughed as Khan clapped his hands in Victory. "In six months this little sucker will emerge a fully grown augment!"

"Congratulations Galen." She said with a smile.

"Congratulations to you that's your genetic son or daughter growing." She smiled.

"Well I leave you to the rest of them, I need to go to the weapons bay, and do battle expert first officer things."

"Sounds professional." Galen said and Aria laughed as she walked off. Khan watched her with a longing look as she entered the turbo lift. "What did you do?" Khan looked to Galen.

"What makes you think I did something?"

"She didn't look at you once…" Galen said turning to look at him. "Usually Aria is always stealing glances at you."

"It's a long story, you need to focus on the little ones."

"Aye Aye Captain." Galen said as he returned to his work and Khan walked off.

-o-

"Jim." Bones said walking into the Captain quarters.

"Whoa there man I could have had a lady." Kirk said coming out of the shower a towel around his waist. "What is it Mr. no knock magee?" Bones just scowled.

"I think I figured out what Khan Aria and Galen may be up too." He said. "They're re growing their race Jim."

"What?" Kirk asked. "Are you sure?"

"Positive, they stole Embryos."

"But those Embryos aren't Augmented."

"Galen was in the tube labelled for the medical expert, it's possible he knows how to augment these Embryos."

"A whole race of those things…" Kirk said. "It'll be the Eugenics war all over again…"

"What the hell do we do Jim?" Bones asked.

"We find them, and we kill them… There's no mercy now they've taken it too far."


	16. Linked Lovers

Khan paced his bedroom. It had been four days since he had seen Aria. Four days, and four nights. 96 hours. 5760 minutes. 345600 seconds. Since seeing her face, since talking to her, since even just being in her presence. It was driving him mad. He needed her. Needed her more then he needed anything else. He took a deep breath as he looked to the door separating her room from his. He could sense her inside. He walked over to the door and set his hand on it. He took a calming breath before punching in a code and opening the door. Aria instantly turned at her desk to see Khan in the doorway.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Can I come in?" he asked working very hard to force his eyes to meet hers.

"Depends on what you need to speak to me about." She said standing and facing him her arms wrapping around herself. He walked into the room. "I didn't say you could come in." she said taking a step back making Khan stopped as the doors behind him closed. She wasn't scared of him, after all Aria wasn't scared of anything, but she was wary and that knowledge thanks to the connection cut him like a knife. "What do you want Captain?" He looked off. He hated it when she called him that.

"I'm sorry."

"This discussion clearly isn't about the ship, the current missions, or anything business like, so please leave." She said walking past him. Khans eyes drifted closed as her scent filled his senses.

"Please…" He said and she stopped before she was about to open the doors separating their rooms to throw him out. "I only ask you let me say what I need to say and then if you wish me to leave I'll leave…" Her jaw clenched. "Ariadne…" She slowly nodded and walked away from the door back over to her desk which she leaned against as she faced him.

"Go ahead, time's ticking." He slowly nodded.

"First, I'm sorry I laid my hands on you in anger, I'm sorry I hurt you."

"It's fine."

"No it's not… It's in no way fine." She crossed her arms and shifted on her feet.

"Is that all?" She asked quietly.

"No." he said. "I don't know how to say the rest of it…" She looked to him to see he was looking off. "I know you feel like I used you." Her jaw clenched. "And I don't want to make you feel like your feelings are invalid. Because they aren't." She looked him over. "How I acted, the things I said, I can see how they would make you feel like that… I never wanted to make you feel used. I would never use you." He sighed as he looked over her angry expression. "I'm not getting my point across… Look I don't know how to do this." He said walking towards her. "I never had this with anyone." He said motioning from her to him. "Before the only thing a woman wanted from me was one night, I would give it to her and she'd move on and so would I."

"Not. Making. Me. Feel. Better." He felt her anger and jealousy fly at him.

"I just mean they meant nothing to me, all those women meant nothing."

"How many women?" She asked and he shook his head.

"It's not important what is important is that I feel something for you that I didn't feel with any of them…"

"Captain this is all too little too late."

"Don't call me Captain…" He said with a frustrated sigh. "I'm Khan to you…" He said with a soft expression as his eyes met hers. "Just Khan." She shook her head as she looked off.

_I'm losing her… _he thought his jaw clenching. _I don't know what to say! I don't know how to say what is within me…_

"I…" He shook his head feeling helpless for the first time in his life. "I wish I knew how I could show you that I wasn't using you, that I'm not using you, that the love I have for you is honest-."

"What did you just say?" Aria asked softly as she looked to him wide eyed. He looked at her for a long moment. He slowly walked to her, each step he took he worked hard to muster all his strength and bravery. When he reached her he took a deep breath.

"I said I wish I knew how I could show you that I wasn't using you, that I'm not using you, that the love I have for you is honest…"

"The love you have for me?" she asked softly. Khan set his hand on her cheek as he let his eyes move over her.

"I love you Ariadne…" She took a deep shaking breath as she looked him over. "You're not some crew member to me, or some genetic code I need to rebuild our race... You're the love of my life, and I should have never treated you less than that… I promise you though that I will spend the rest of our lives making it up to you…" Aria looked him over and for a moment Khan was sure she'd walk away from him cut ties as best she could with the connection they had between them. She took a deep breath before slowly moving forward and kissing him deeply.

Aria sighed into Khans mouth contently as his arm slowly encircled her body brining her tightly to his chest. He cupped her cheek in his hand as their mouths moved perfectly together. Khan took a deep breath as he felt the connection slowly start to build between them. It was like electricity of the highest voltage shooting between their bodies, tethering their energies together.

Khan picked Aria up her legs instantly wrapping around his waist as he carried her over to the bed. He laid her back gently as he slowly moved over her body. Aria reached down and took a hold of Khans shirt before lifting it up over his head. Her hands rested on his shoulders before sliding down his chest feeling every muscle ripple beneath her fingertips.

Khan lifted Arias shirt over her head before tossing it aside to rest with his own shirt. His hands slid beneath her body and undid her lace bra before tossing it aside as well. As he kissed her deeply he let his hands cascade down over her breasts loving the way she shivered beneath his touch. He undid the buttons on her skinny jeans before slowly pulling them down her body. As he did he left chaste kisses across her skin.

Aria took a deep breath as her eyes drifted closed. She felt his hands moved around the lace band of her panties before pulling them too down her body. She was never one for vulnerability, and before she thought lying naked before someone would make her feel Vulnerable, but she didn't. Not with Khan. If anything she felt empowered.

As Khan moved up Aria, he let his eyes take in inch by perfect inch of her glorious body. He kissed the area between her breasts before moving and kissing her neck as he pushed her arms above her head. Her eyes slowly opened and locked onto his. Aria let out a soft moan as she felt Khan move into her slowly. Her head tilted back as she felt him burying himself within her inch by inch. He lived for moments like this. Moments when he could hear the sound of ecstasy escape the mouth of his linked lover.

"Khan…" his eyes drifted closed at the sound of his moaned name. His head bowed into her neck as he continued to move into her. In the time they were separated he dreamed of this moment. When their bodies would be able to connect once more. It felt deeper in a way now. Maybe it was because he had truly professed his feelings. He was just figuring out that things left unsaid were incomplete, and half-truths. He should have told Aria he loved her the moment he knew. "Come back to me…" Aria said softly her lips brushing against his as she spoke softly.

"I'm here…" she pushed on his shoulders rolling him onto his back as she straddled him. He sat up and wrapped his arms around her body. Her hands gripped onto his shoulders as his head buried into her breasts. Aria could feel it. The world falling away. Disappearing as they moved in perfect rhythm together. Now that she knew what she knew, she could feel it. The connection felt deeper than it ever had.

She moaned softly as she felt her pleasure begin to build deep within her body. Khan pulled back one hand gripped onto her hip as the other cupped her cheek. His cool blue eyes locked with her intense emerald ones as their bodies moved against one another. She wrapped her legs around his waist bringing them closer than ever before. At the same time they moved forward their mouths crashing against one another.

Khan pushed Aria back onto the bed as he thrust into her deeply. Every time he moved into her she'd moan into his mouth. He smiled at the way her hands gripped onto his shoulders. Any other time he knew under her augment grip it would hurt, but all he felt was pleasure in that moment. He pulled back and watched as her head tilted back and her body arched against his.

She was more beautiful in that moment then he had ever seen. He kissed her deeply as he moaned himself. He could feel it, the wave of pleasure, building deep within himself. He groaned as Aria let out a hot loud moan. He could feel her orgasm crash into himself threatening to bring his own forward. He didn't want to in that moment though. He wanted to feel her come over and over again, wanted her to come completely undone beneath him.

"Khan…" Her arms wrapped around him tightly. He wasn't climaxing. Normally they would come together. Or he would follow closely after her. But he wasn't. He was holding back, why she wasn't sure. She felt him move against her sweetest spot and her eyes fluttered closed as another wave of pleasure crashed into her. His fingers moved through her hair tilting her head back as he kissed her neck.

"Again." He said and she felt another wall of pleasure hit her. Before she could relish in the feeling of the last orgasm he kissed the corner of her mouth. "Again…" Her head threw back as she let out another hot moan. Her hands gripped onto his shoulders as her head moved to the side.

"Khan…" She whispered the orgasms becoming more and more intense. "Khan-."

"Again." He commanded thrusting into her deeply. At the feeling of him filling her completely her body arched against his as she moaned loudly. Khan took a deep breath as he felt her Orgasm radiate through his body. It was getting harder to hold back, but he wanted nothing more than to have her scream his name. His hand moved down her body his eyes following its movements. His hand gripped onto her hip as he pushed her down into the bed. "Again…" he said his voice shaking and his eyes closed as he felt pleasure like never before fill him as her orgasm mixed with the pleasure begging to be released deep within his own body. "Again." She moaned loudly each time she came he felt himself coming closer and closer to the edge. "Again." He commanded and once more she came for him. "Again." She moaned loudly her arms wrapping around him. "Again."

"K-."

"Again." He said taking deep breaths as her multiple orgasms hit him like a ton of bricks. "Again." Arias head threw back. She didn't know how much more she could take as she shook against him. "Again." She couldn't seem to stop herself. Every time he asked her to, she would come, and harder than the one before. "Again." Her head bowed forward into his chest this time as she tried to muffle her cries of pleasure.

"Khan…" she said softly shaking from the gratification. "Please… It's too much…"

"Again." He said tilting her chin up so she would look at him. As he thrust into her deeper than ever before her head threw back.

"Khan!" he gripped onto her hip as he felt himself come completely undone. He moaned into her breasts as her fingers ran through his damp black hair. Aria stared up at the ceiling her heart beating faster than it ever had before. Her eyes drifted closed. What she had just experienced had been better than anything she had ever been through before. Khan wrapped his arms around Arias body as he rolled onto his back causing her to lay his head on her chest as her body continued to buzz from the aftershock of the multiple orgasms.

They stayed silent for a long time, just listening to one another breathe. The silence was comfortable, one neither felt like breaking but Aria wanted to. She slowly rested her head on his shoulder and he turned to face her. He pushed a strand of her long red hair behind her ear before cupping her cheek. She stared at him for a long while with a soft expression.

"I love you…" She said softly. "I should have said it before…"

"No… I should have said it before…" he said his thumb brushing over her bottom lip.

"Did I ask too much of you?"

"No." he said instantly.

"I keep forgetting that you're not like any other man I've dealt with when it comes to affections…"

"Because I am your equal." He said understanding. "I keep forgetting that you are unlike any other woman I've dealt with because… I actually have affections for you, and also because you are my equal… I used to think no one was my equal…" he moved forward and kissed her.

"When did you know I was your equal?"

"The second I met you, no one had knocked my off my feet the way you did."

"Quite literally I'm afraid." She said and he smiled.

"You've knocked me down a few times since then…"

"Which brings me to an apology, I'm sorry for smacking you when you tried to kiss me a few nights ago…"

"I was trying to use the connection against you, if I ever do it again you have permission to do so."

"Permission?" She asked with a wicked smile. "You're not pulling rank with me again are-." He moved forward and kissed her deeply cutting her off. She laughed softly as he pulled back. He smiled as he looked her over before his eyes rested on something he hadn't noticed before. His hand slowly moved up her arm and stopped under a bruise. Aria winced as his fingers gingerly touched it. He could feel the pain shoot through his own arm and he quickly looked to her.

"I'm sorry…"

"It's fine-."

"No… No it's not…" he said seeing her other arm was bruised from where he had grabbed her so hard he had shattered the bones.

"You thought I was leaving, you wanted to make sure I stayed this was your-."

"You're not some object… You're not some prisoner I keep Ariadne…" He said his jaw clenching as he looked off.

"Khan I'm not the only person you've ever broken bones of… This is nothing-."

"You're not just any other person Ariadne…" he said looking to her. "I want you to get your arms checked out by Galen tomorrow."

"I'm fine, they're heali-." He looked to her and she sighed. "I will…"

"Thank you…" he muttered as he went to get out of the bed. Aria reached forward and took his hand with in hers.

"Where are you going?" she asked softly and Khan looked over his shoulder at her.

"I don't deserve to sleep in the same bed as you, I shouldn't even-."

"Don't take back what we just did or I'm going to have to slap you again, maybe even punch you." He couldn't help but smile at her sweet expression. "Come back in bed…" She beckoned and he found that he could not refuse her." He wrapped his arms around her body bringing her head to rest on his muscular chest. "I think I need to sleep…" She said softly, she only slept every few days or so after all.

"You can rest…"

"Will you be here when I wake?"

"Of course." Her eyes drifted close.

"If you leave I'll hunt you down." He smiled at her words.

"I know."

"I'm not kidding, I'll go Dreadnaught class of your ass." He chuckled.

"Always giving me such hell…"

"You love me for it." He looked down at her to see her eyes close.

"I do…"

-o-

AN: Short chapter, but I wanted this to stand on its own. It was such an important night after all why muddle it with other things? the net chap will be much longer. :)


	17. Getting Ready

Aria smiled softly as she walked into the medical bay. She wasn't calling upon Galen for Khan. Instead she was checking in on the growing augments. It had been two weeks since they had started growing them to term. She smiled softly as she walked up to one of the birthing tubes. She could only see the outline of a Augmented Fetus growing. But it was still a beautiful thing. She checked over the stats and smiled seeing that they were right on track when it came to growth.

"This is your tenth time in here this week." She smiled before turning to see Galen walking in with a smile.

"I can't seem to stay away…"

"It's only natural. You're a woman, these are babies. Your maternal instincts are coming out. I suspect you'll become very attached and very protective until they are full grown."

"How long will it take for them to become full grown once out of the tubes?"

"Six months, so a year in total… We never said it would be quick rebuilding our race… I just hate that we have too…" She watched as his jaw clenched tightly.

"Has Khan told you what I found out while aboard the Dreadnaught Enterprise?" She asked.

"That the others weren't in fact destroyed aboard the Dreadnaught Vengeance? Yes… But Aria we don't know if they're still alive now... I mean they kept me in a coma with minimal blood and they tortured you for information, what do you think they're going to do to the others?"

"I don't know, but I hate not knowing…" She said as he sat down at his table. "I keep looking through the files I downloaded from the linking system and I can't find any trace of them… But I'm only 3 percent through…" She muttered walking over to the crio cabinet to look at the vials containing her true genetic siblings.

"They'll be the next to grow…" Galen said walking to her side. He looked her over to see she was smiling softly. "I did some tests, they are really your siblings, a perfect match…" She looked to him with a warm expression before looking back to the cabinet. "They're your family…"

"My true family…" She said softly. "I can't wait to meet them…"

"You've been alone for a long time." She looked to him quickly taken aback. "Sorry…" He said looking off.

"No… It's fine…" She said quietly. "Uhm… Yeah I have…"

"I mean it's just been you for years…" He said looking to her. "How old are you?"

"About to turn 22." She said with a soft expression.

"22 years thinking you were alone with all your abilities… Not knowing who you were or where you came from… I can't imagine it…"

"I can't imagine waking up after over 200 years of peaceful sleep to find out that everything you once knew was gone…" He looked to her and smiled softly.

"It is strange…"

"How are you handling things Galen?"

"I just... Can't seem to stop thinking about my wife…" She stared at him for a long moment and he smiled softly.

"Your wife?" she asked quietly.

"Aye." He said staring down at a medical device in his hands. "We were newly married when we were forced into exile."

"I didn't know…"

"It's alright I'm just starting to be able to talk about it…"

"Had you two… Connected?"

"No… That is a very rare thing, it doesn't mean I didn't love her though." He said quickly.

"No I understand…" She said walking to him.

"Because I did… I do… Love… Her…"

"What was her name?" He smiled softly as he looked off.

"Rayna Leyach…" He said softly. "She had skin like honey and raven hair that shimmered like it held the moon its self…"

"She sounds lovely…"

"No offense but she makes you look like the back end of Klingon." Aria laughed softly as he smiled.

"None taken…" She said before looking over Galen who had a pained expression.

"I just keep thinking… What if they're doing to her what they did to you…"

"They wouldn't risk waking up anyone else it's why they kept you in a coma…" He looked to her.

"They tortured me because I was already awake and aware, besides she would know nothing that they could use…" He slowly nodded. "Galen… I promise if I'm able to I will find her and I will bring her back to you…" He looked her over.

"I actually believe you when you say that."

"Good… Because I do and I will…" She said patting him on the back. "Look after the little ones I've got some work to do in the weapons bay."

"Will do." He said with a smile as he watched her walk off.

-o-

Khan rode down the Turbo lift. He hadn't seen Aria in nearly two days. Though he wasn't concerned. After all they had more than made up with one another. It was just more that, once in a while he liked his eyes to fall upon her face to know she was there, to know he wasn't alone. The doors to the weapons bay opened up and he walked out looking all around.

"Ariadne?" he called.

"Here!" he heard the sound of an explosions and quickly ran around a corner of the weapons bay to see Aria laying back against a wall covered in soot, a fire raging on one of her arms. He quickly ran over as she slowly got to her feet.

"Are you alright?" He asked quickly.

"Of course." She said waving him off.

"Really?" he asked.

"Yeah I uhm…" She cleared her throat looking at an exploded warhead across the room. "Totally meant to make that warhead explode."

"Oh you did?" she nodded.

"Yep… Completely… In… Intentional." She stated coyly.

"Was it also your intention to get lit on fire?" She quickly looked down at her arm and started patting down the flames that had erupted on the sleeve of her shirt.

"Yes yes it was!" she said quickly before the fire died down. After a moment she ran her fingers down her soot covered clothes. "I've been having some trouble with the warheads…" she muttered and he smiled.

"How many have you detonated?"

"Three… Well four now." Another explosion sounded and she looked off. "Most likely five…"

"Why didn't you come ask me questions I would have helped you, these are my designs after all."

"How was I supposed to know they were all going to be booby trapped?" she asked rushing over to a warhead which was aflame. She quickly dosed it in retardant before sighing heavily. "Can you just tell me how to undue the booby trap?"

"Why do you need to undue them so badly?" he asked with a wicked smile and she shook her head.

"You won't like the answer."

"Tell me." He said leaning against a counter.

"Because… They're flawed."

"They're not flawed." He said standing up straight and she smiled.

"Told you, you wouldn't like the answer, and yes they are flawed. Majorly so…"

"How so?" he asked.

"They don't detonate when they should."

"Yes they do-."

"They're a half second off." She said handing him over a tablet with her research. His jaw clenched and she smiled. "See…"

"They are a half second off…" He said looking at the warheads. "Well that won't do."

"No it won't so tell me how to undue the booby traps so I can fix it per my job as battle expert." He punched in a code into the tablet and she smiled. "It was Khan wasn't it? That was the pass code?" he just smiled and handed her over the tablet. "Cheeky…" She said seeing all the warheads were disarmed.

"You should have come asked me and I would have done this earlier then be down five warheads."

"Well… I wanted to do it myself." She said with a shrug.

"So stubborn."

"It's why you fell in love with me." She said walking over to a table filled with weapons. Kahn tilted his head looking them over.

"I didn't design these."

"No I did." She said with a smile. "Each one is now retrofitted with the genetically augmented DNA in the handle so if anyone who isn't an Augment tries to handle it their hand gets blown off." He looked at her.

"You're serious?" he inquired.

"I don't joke about weapons." He smiled. "It's brilliant right?" she asked with a smile as he looked it over.

"And incredibly devious, I think I'm rubbing off on you." She smiled.

"One can hope." He looked at her for a long moment. "What?" she asked with a soft expression.

"I just remember a time where you would have rather died then be like me in anyway."

"Well that was before I saw the truth of things…"

"What's the truth of things?"

"That we're not the savage ones at all. The humans are." She said looking to him. "Before… I thought it was the other way around…" Her jaw clenched and Khan felt a wave of anger hit him like never before.

"You've been thinking on Till a lot lately." She slowly looked to him. "The connection remember?" she smiled softly and he felt her anger subside.

"How could I forget… I just keep thinking…" she shook her head. "It doesn't matter now… Like Bradshaw used to say all you can do is move forward and wait for a second chance and hope that second chance does in fact come."

"The second chance to kill him?"

"Not just kill him…" She said with a dark expression as she stared down at the metal table before her. "I'm going to tie him down to a metal table and do every single thing he did to me… I'll have a transfusion of my blood waiting in case he tries to die on me in the process…" She muttered her jaw clenching.

"We've never…" He began carefully. "Really talked about what happened to you in that room." She looked at him for a long moment.

"You saw it."

"I only saw a few short minutes of it." He said and she just shrugged.

"Why would it matter you saw the result of it… You can make your guesses as to what happened-."

"I want to know because of how it affects you…" he said.

"It doesn't… Not really…" She said quietly as she started tinkering with a plasma ray.

"It does though…" he said. "Sometimes you… Say things in your sleep." She slowly raised her eyes to his. "The things you say… I can tell you're right back there in that room…" Her jaw clenched. "I do not wish to upset you." He said walking around the table to her side. "I only wish to share the burden of which you bare…"

"I don't want you to share the burden…" She said softy before closing her eyes. "Saying that out loud sounds very cruel... I don't mean it how it sounds." She said looking to him. "I just… I don't want you to know what happened to me."

"Why?" he asked. "As you have said I've seen the result…"

"I just…" She shook her head. "The only time I think on what he did to me in that room is when I'm sleeping and have no control over my mind, or in the heat of battle when I need anger or drive to see through my resolve. And that should tell you something, that the experience was… Awful… it was… Agony Khan, and I'm trying to save you from that Agony… Sometimes I worry that because of the connection you'll see, or feel, or in some way know what happened to me and I get crippled by the thought of you going through that because of me."

"Don't worry about me… Don't worry about saving me from anything…" he said his hand resting over hers. She slowly brought her eyes to his. "Tell me what happened."

"I don't have a steady time line in my head, so I can't really tell you when things happened or why…"

"Just tell me what happened…" He said quietly. She shook her head as her jaw clenched.

"I can't…" She said before walking off. "I'm sorry." Khan took a deep breath as he watched her leave. He knew she wasn't angry with him for pressing, but with herself for not being able to tell him.

-o-

Aria sat at her vanity her eyes staring into herself without seeing. Her mind was too far away to perceive her own reflection. Since talking to Khan all she could think about was Gabriel Till and his white room. She took a deep breath and let her eyes drift close. She had never been afraid in her life but every time her mind wondered to Till and that metal table in that stark white room it's all she could bring herself to feel. She took a deep breath feeling something else, a presence right behind her.

"Ariadne…" She turned and wrapped her arms around Khan. He took a deep breath as his hand cradled the back of her head.

"I can't tell you." She said and he pulled back as he cupped her cheek in his hand. "I can't say it…"

"Then show me…" He said moving forward and she pulled back.

"No…" She said getting up. "No I don't want you to see it."

"Why not?"

"Because it's me at my… Weakest point." She said her jaw clenching.

"You've said that before, and I'll say what I said before again, you weren't weak. You never gave in, you never told them anything-."

"What if I did?" she inquired her voice above a whisper. "What if I did and I don't remember and you see it where it's locked in my head…"

"It still doesn't matter, you were tortured for a month straight…" he said. "If you gave in, I wouldn't think less of you…" He walked up behind her and rested his hands on her upper arms. "A pro of having the connection we have is an ability to share our burdens… To share our grief… It lessons things… makes it easier to bare…" he turned her so she would face him. "Show me…"

"You're not going to give this up are you?" she asked.

"Not when I know it's eating you alive…" He said.

"You'll hate me."

"Impossible…" he said before moving forward and capturing her lips with his in a slow heated kiss. He pushed her back on the bed as he climbed over. "Think about it…" her eyes shut tightly. "I'm right here nothing to be afraid of, show me…" He wanted to know, wanted to know how a simple human could make Aria feel such fear. His mind flashed and he took a deep breath. "That's it… Let me in." he heard a shrill scream coming from Arias mind into his and his eyes shut tightly as he looked around a white room.

"Tell me about Khan!" He turned to see Aria strapped down onto a table. "Silence will not quell my anger tell me about Khan!"

"No…" he watched as Gabriel slammed a hammer across her face blood spurting from her mouth. "I'm…" She shook violently from the pain. "I'm not going to tell you anything!" She shouted.

"Oh no… No you will dear…" Gabriel said grabbing a knife as he walked to her side. "If I have to I will break you in ways a hammer can't…" he said his eyes moving over her. "After all you're a woman and there is so much more I can do to a woman then I can to a man…" he said his hands moving over her Aria suddenly laughed making him look to her. Aria spit her blood in his face and smiled.

"You don't have the balls." Gabriel screamed in anger as he threw the knife aside and grabbed a set of pliers.

"Open her fucking mouth!" he ordered as two medibots moved forward and pried open her mouth so far her jaw broke making her scream in pain. In that second tons of images began to flash at him. All of Aria screaming and covered in blood as Gabriel did everything from push pins into her eyes to breaking bones in her arms and legs just to hear them snap.

"I can't do this…" Khan heard Arias voice fill his head. "I can't do this…" he watched as Gabriel pulled tooth from her mouth as he laughed. "No!" Khans eyes snapped open and he looked around Arias room to see her rushing to the bathroom. He followed her quickly and stopped when he saw her throw up blood.

"Ariadne…" he moved forward and pulled her hair back as more blood shot from her mouth. "It's okay."

"Get away from me." She said trying to push him back.

"No…" he said as she fell back against the wall of the bathroom the toilette automatically flushing. He moved forward as she took a shaking breath.

"Don't make me go back there." She said her eyes shut tightly. "Don't make me go back there." Khan pulled Aria into his arms as he rested back against the wall.

"It's okay…" he said still shocked from what he had seen, which he knew wasn't even half of what had happened to her.

"I hate that it was him who brought me to my knees." She said her jaw clenching.

"I didn't see him bring you to your knees once." He said pulling back and cradling her face in his hands. "You never wielded to him, not once. Not even when he was breaking your bones or…" his jaw clenched. "Pushing pins into your eyes. You say you were afraid but I didn't see it… I may have felt it but I never saw you afraid… Not once. You were very brave…"

"Not brave…" She said. "Hopeful."

"Of?" he asked.

"That you would come save me…" She said before smiling and he didn't know how she was able to after all she had been through. "First time in my life I wanted someone to help me… First time I needed someone to help me."

"You still think you're in that room sometimes…" She slowly brought her eyes to his. "I could feel that when we connected."

"Sometimes, when they didn't deplete me enough of my blood I had enough energy to dream… And I'd dream that I got out somehow, or you came for me, but I'd be so weak that I couldn't decipher what was dreams and was reality… I was in a constant state of confusion."

"What can I do to reassure you that you got out, that I did in fact come get you?"

"I know it most of the time but then once in a while… When I'm alone… I can't help but let my mind wonder to the possibility-."

"It's not a possibility though…" Khan said quickly. "You're here with me, there's no other possibility…"

"I know I just… I can't help it sometimes…"

"What can I do?"

"There's… There's nothing you can do." She said.

"I shouldn't…" his jaw clenched, he was enraged with himself. "I shouldn't have abandoned you…"

"They would have gotten us both Khan, and…" Her voice broke softly. "That would have been awful."

"Better me then you-."

"No… No I'm glad it happened to me and not you." He shook his head unsure of how she could say such a thing.

"I abandoned you."

"No you didn't, that was me remember?" She asked and he cupped her cheek. "How many times have I abandoned you?"

"You never really did." He said. "The one time you tried you were what only… A mile away?"

"Give me some credit… I was a mile and a half away…" She laughed softly as she stood and he smiled as he watched her. He so admired her in that moment, even if she could not admire herself. He got up himself and followed her out of the bathroom.

"A whole mile and a half huh?" he asked and she laughed softly as she turned and looked to him.

"Don't make fun of me." She said with a smile his eyes suddenly widened. "What?" she asked.

"That's how I can prove to you that you're not in that room." He said with sudden realization.

"How?" She asked.

"Before… When you were in that room, you didn't love me, not yet." She looked him over as he walked to her setting his hands on her hips. "You would have never imagined being with me…" He said his eyes going over her beautiful face. "But here you are…" He said his hand sliding up her body and over her breast to rest on her neck. "In my arms…" he kissed her deeply and Aria sighed contently into his mouth. He pulled back and looked her over. "So if you truly were still in that room, there's no way the place you would escape to was here in my arms…" She smiled.

"I should have, it would have been a nice place to escape to."

"Any time you feel like you're slipping back there." He said cupping her cheek in his hand. "Any moment you feel as though you might really be back in that white room… You come to me, and I'll make you remember where you really are."

"How will you do that?"

"I have my ways…"

"Ways?" she asked feeling his hand move up her back. "What ways?" He backed her up against the wall his mouth crashing against hers.

-o-

Aria lay in bed staring up at the ceiling. She felt quite content in that moment. Partly due to the man she loved laying in her arms. She looked down at Khan whose head lay on her bare breasts his arms wrapped tightly around her waist. He was sleeping, a rare thing. She thought he didn't sleep hardly enough. This was the first time she had seen him take a rest in weeks. She wondered what he dreamed about when he slept.

_Probably bursting Marcus's head like a watermelon between his bare hands… fond memories. _She tried not to laugh and instead smiled as she ran her fingers through his black hair. Her arms moved around him as she looked down at him with a soft expression. Seeing him like this, his arms wrapped tightly around her as he nuzzled against her breasts it was hard to believe he was this ruthless killing machine bent on the annihilation of the human race. No he was really very sweet looking like this, though she would never admit such a thing to him. He stirred and slowly looked around before looking up at her.

"How long have I been out?"

"Two hours…" she said moving a strand of his black hair out of his eyes. "You should go back to sleep… You need your rest…"

"No I can't too much to do…" He said sitting up. Khan rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he looked around the room. He was exhausted, but there was no time for that. There was still so much that needed to be done to get ready for the Augment children. So much to make this place a fitting habitat for their race. He slowly looked to Aria who was sitting up as well the blanket resting around her hips exposing her beautiful body. He wanted to reach out and touch her right in that moment, but there was no time.

"You really need to sleep."

"I told you I can't." he said getting up, unashamed of his naked body as he walked over to his closet.

"You need to." She said wrapping the blanket around her body, a little more self-conscious then Khan.

"The children will be here in two months, and they'll have six months until their full grown… This place isn't meant for children and when they come out of those tubes that's what they'll be infants, and then very quickly children, and they'll stay children for most of the six months until the last two when they'll quickly go from teens to adults. There's not enough food resources on ship to feed them as they will eat more than us…"

"We have a plentiful land around us we can get food from."

"Exactly and we need to get that going."

"Let me handle some of these things." She said walking to his side. "I'm a battle expert and there's no battle going on, honestly I'm bored to tears down in the weapons bay, and you did say I was your second in command so let me be your second in command and bare some of your duties _Captain_." He smiled at the way she had said captain. She knew how much he hated it when she referred to him with such formality.

"Alright, I need you to find out if there are any natural grains, fruits, anything we can use as food already growing on the island, also I want to know if there are any seedlings on planet."

"I can do that." She said.

"I'm going with-."

"Khan the whole point of this was so you could sleep."

"I couldn't fall back asleep even if I wanted to." He said. "Besides it's really a two man job, this will cut down the time significantly."

"Okay." She said giving in knowing there was no point in fighting him. "I'll go get dressed." She went to walk away and smiled when Khan took her hand and pulled her back kissing her deeply.

"I'll meet you in the shuttles bay."

"Alright." She said kissing his cheek before walking away the sheet dragging behind her as she moved.

AN: So there is Chapter 17 sorry it took so long to get up I had a mess of computer problems. As always check me out on TUMBLR under the name KARATEGIRL666 that's where I'll be selling my book in a few months. YAY!


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